


Livin' in Queens, Livin' It Up In Brooklyn

by Endlessnotebooks



Series: The Brothers Parker-Peralta [1]
Category: Avengers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Backstreet Boys References, Classical Conditioning using Backstreet Boys, Classical conditioning, Cute, Found Family, Gen, Holt - Freeform, Mostly Fluff, Nothing shows up on screen, Older brother figure Jake, Parental Relationships, Peter has so many parents in this, Sassy Peter Parker, Sick Peter, So many parents, but it is referenced later in the fic, implied/referenced non-con elements, may - Freeform, murder lesbians, sibling type relationships, tony - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-05 22:24:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 54
Words: 96,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15180665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endlessnotebooks/pseuds/Endlessnotebooks
Summary: Peter and Jake have gotten along since he was a kid. Jake was Peter's go to when he had a problem, his first line of defense, and his best friend. They were practically brothers. The Nine-Nine were like a second family. So it makes sense that as he gets older and things get tougher, his first instinct is to turn to his family when he feels like he can't go to May and Ben. (Starts after the spider bite, before Homecoming)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I took some creative liberties, and maybe this'll end up being a bit cracky or unrealistic, but I don't really care. I thought it was a cute idea, so I ran with it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Peter bolted into the precinct in all of his energetic, fourteen-year-old glory. The spider bite from the day’s field trip might have made him feel a bit queasy and tired, but he was still excited to see Jake. While May and Ben tried to avoid both being out of town at the same time, when it happened it meant he got to stay with Jake. Even though May thought his apartment could use a solid cleaning and she didn’t like that they spent the entire time watching movies and eating junk food, she could appreciate the fact that Jake had filled a big-brother style role in Peter’s life, even introducing Peter to a number of other individuals that were good influences on her nephew.

“Hey, Charles. Is Jake in?”

Charles got that kinda weird smile on his face that he always had when talking about Jake. “Nope! He’s working on the Oxford Park case with Amy! I bet you they have it solved by the end of the day!”

“Yeah…” Peter chuckled a bit. “What am I doing today?”

Peter moved a chair from beside Jake’s desk to sit near Gina, pulling some of her work towards his side of the desk. He didn’t even look up as someone walked to stand by Gina’s desk, looking down at the papers and moving to get started.

“Not so fast, young man.” Peter glanced up. Captain Holt was standing over him, using what Jake called his ‘you’re breaking the rules, Peralta’ voice. “Where are your work papers?”

“I haven’t gotten them back from the counselor yet. But I turned everything in yesterday, so I should have them in a couple days.”

“No papers, no work. You know the rules, Peter.”

Rosa snorted from her desk as Hitchcock passed her a twenty. “Told you he would catch him.” Rosa turned to Peter. “Get your ass over here and start your homework. If your Spanish homework isn’t perfect, I won’t hesitate.”

“Hesitate to what?” Peter ignored the slight dizziness as he pulled his chair to Rosa’s desk, dropping the papers back onto Gina’s desk. Gina didn’t even look up from her phone as she patted his hand.

“Adorable as always, Parker.”

“Love you too, Linetti.”

He threw himself into the seat, ignoring the nausea and dizziness, and pulling out his homework. He had a nice little family at the Nine-Nine.

*

By the time Jake got back to the precinct, he and Amy had a couple of good leads.

“I’ll follow them up, Jake. You finish up your work and then go back to your apartment with Peter.” Amy pulled out her notepad. “I’ll fill you in in the morning, yeah?”

“Thanks, Amy. It means a lot!”

“Go get your kid brother, Peralta.”

“See ya tomorrow, Amy.”

“Yeah. Date night, right? You found somewhere to send Peter?”

“Sarge said he’d take him. Peter gets along with Cagney and Lacey, so it means he and Sharon can spend some time together while Peter keeps the twins busy.”

Jake walked into the precinct, suddenly very worried. Peter was sitting by Rosa’s desk with his head in his arms, looking pale. Rosa was concerned, staring at Peter like he was going to explode. “What’s wrong with him, Peralta?”

Jake walked over, putting his hand on Peter’s forehead. “Kid, you have a fever. Are you alright?”

Peter pushed his head further into his arm. “I’m fine.”

“Give me two seconds.” Jake threw his stuff on his desk, moving towards Holt’s office, and knocking on the door.

“Jake, no!” Peter tried to stand, pitching forward and landing on the floor. Rosa had stood up and moved towards Peter, pulling him up. “I’m fine, really!”

“No, you’re not. I’m telling Holt, and then we’re going home, watching Die-Hard and you’re going to sleep.”

Peter sighed. “You can’t just take off early, though.”

“I can, and I will.” Jake turned to Holt. “The kid’s sick, Boss. Please?”

Holt stood in his doorway looking at Peter. “Take him to a doctor if he doesn’t get better in a few days. If he isn’t better in the morning, let me know and take the day off. Until his aunt comes back, you’re responsible for him, so I expect you to take excellent care of him. Is that understood, Peralta?”

“Yes, sir.” Jake glanced at Peter. “And it’s not my first time watching the kid while he’s sick! What’s with the lack of faith?”

He already knew the answer to that question, and Holt didn’t bother giving it to him. Still, that stung just a bit.

“Alright, don’t answer me then.” Jake walked over to Rosa, taking Peter from her. “Can you grab my keys and unlock my car for me, Diaz?”

Rosa’s nose twitched as she grabbed the keys, following Jake outside and helping him lay Peter down in the backseat. As soon as the door was closed she nodded to it. “He’s gonna be alright, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll text May and Ben, let them know what’s going on, but give him a day or two and he’ll be back up.”

“Good.” Rosa’s expression suddenly turned lethal. “If he’s not, Amy’ll never find your body.”

As she walked back toward the precinct, Jake shouted, “You’re underestimating my girlfriend, Diaz, and I don’t appreciate it!” When it was clear Rosa wasn’t listening, he mumbled. “She’d find my body. Right? Of course, she would…”

*

As soon as Jake had Peter in his apartment, he laid him on the couch and put the first Die Hard movie in.

“When Aunt May found out you showed me these movies when I was ten, she had a conniption.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Jake hit play and sat next to Peter, lifting his head and placing it on his lap so he could run his fingers through Peter’s hair. “I thought that was supposed to be our secret.”

“It was, until Uncle Ben found out you liked them and wanted to watch them with me.” Peter’s eyes were still closed, but if he was talking then Jake had some hope the kid would be okay. “I didn’t know how to explain why I could quote it.”

Jake laughed. “God, you were so little the first time we watched these.”

“I was not.”

“Were too!”

“I was little when you met me. I was a pre-teen when you showed me these.”

“Technically, everything before 13 is pre-teen, Peter.”

“What, did Amy teach you that?”

“No!” Jake shook his head. “But still. Ten is little.”

“Is not.”

“You could still sit on my lap when we first watched these, Peter. You were little.”

They had missed the first two minutes of the movie, but they knew it fairly well by now. “You know, I owe you a huge thank you, Jake.”

“For what?” Jake was genuinely confused, and it stalled his hand.

Peter shifted, his head brushing against Jake’s hand, almost like Amy’s cat liked to do. “When you helped me find May after everything that happened at the Stark Expo… You made it into a game, and you calmed me down. It helped a lot.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that, kid. I was doing my job.”

Peter shrugged, starting to nod off. Jake started turning the T.V. down, pulling his phone out and starting “I Want It That Way”. The kid was out like a light. Pulling the kid up, Jake moved him towards the bed, tucking the covers around him and closing the door as he left the kid.

Pulling his phone out, he glanced at the texts he had. Some tips from Terry and the Captain, a couple from the squad asking about Peter, and one from May and Ben each.

_May Parker: You get him to sleep?_

Tapping out a reply to both of Peter’s guardians, he turned back to his movie.

_Yeah. Played IWITW. Worked like a charm, as always._

*

Peter hadn’t realized it until later, but by then the damage was done. One of Jake’s favorite songs had unwittingly become a lullaby. The association had been reinforced over the years, and now, when the song played it tended to calm him down.

Which was why he had been playing it on a loop as the world around him put on the universe’s worst symphony of bad sounds, bad smells, and the world being turned up to an ungodly high definition in terms of his sight.

Jake had made him stay home when he noticed that Peter was flinching at lights and sudden sounds. He had pulled the curtains in any of the rooms and turned off the lights before setting Peter on the couch and making him eat some toast.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you’re staying home today.”

“You need to go to work.”

“I already texted the Captain.” Jake had slipped soft socks on, and it did dull his feet against the wood, but Peter could still hear every step like he was stomping around in steel clogs.

“I can manage!”

“Nuh-uh, Petey-Pie. You’re staying here, and I’m taking care of you.” Jake sat down next to him, noticing the flinch as his voice got the tiniest bit out of a whisper at the end. “Mind if I hug you?”

Peter shied away from the touch. It wasn’t the first time – as social as the kid was, when he was sick he avoided everyone and everything.

“I’m going to call Amy, see if she has anything stronger than Tylenol, since that’s not working for you. I’m also going to update your aunt and uncle a little later, okay?”

“No!” Peter flinched at the volume of _his own_ voice, increasing Jake’s concern. “You can’t do that.” His voice was much quieter this time. “If you do that, they might come back, and they need the money.”

“Peter, we want to take care of you. For them, that means knowing what’s going on so that if this doesn’t clear up, they can continue taking care of you. For me, that means staying here and making sure you’re eating, resting, and drinking plenty of fluids.”

Peter didn’t respond to that, instead opting to tease. “How are you so good at this when you can’t even balance a checkbook?”

Jake sputtered. “That’s not important! Who even uses checks anymore?”

Peter laughed from where he sat on the couch, wrapped up in sweats and a cotton shirt. Jake moved over just enough that he could place his hand on Peter’s forehead.

“You’ve still got a fever, so I want you to let me know if you get any worse or anything, alright?”

“How would I know if my fever were worse?”

“I mean, like, if you get nauseous or need to vomit.” Jake stood up, going to the kitchen. “I’m getting you some water, and I want you to drink it all, okay?”

“I’ve been fighting the urge to vomit all morning, but thanks. Did you get tips from Terry or Captain Holt or something?”

The way Jake’s eyebrows came in and he looked to the left as he grimaced told him what he needed to know. “What?! No! Of course not!”

“You did.”

“Even if I did, at least I’m doing a better job taking care of you than the last time you got sick with me.”

 The last time Peter had gotten sick, he had panicked and May had come back early from a trip to make sure Peter was alright. Definitely not an experience he wanted to have again, so he took all the advice he could get.

“I’m having Amy come over later for dinner, if you want to help me cook.”

“Should I help cook if I’m sick?”

“Maybe not…” Jake shrugged. “You’re eating with us, though. I want to make sure you get something solid in you, and maybe if we don’t push it on you too early it’ll stay down.”

“Alright, Jake.”

Peter took the water that was offered to him, sipping at it. It was a small victory, and Jake would take it.

*

Peter didn’t know why he didn’t just say “I was bitten by a spider while touring a bioengineering facility”, but he knew that as the day went on things started getting better. His senses still felt like a couple of semis running over him repeatedly, but Jake helped with that a lot by toning himself down and keeping all the curtains drawn. He had even had Peter hang out in the bedroom while he cooked, just in case any of the scents made him want to vomit.

But the nausea had become less of someone having punched him in the gut repeatedly and was slowly turning more into the type he associated with nerves. He didn’t feel the metallic pressure in his throat that told him he was going to vomit (again), and the headache was beginning to subside. He had snacked here and there throughout the day, keeping things down after his third time hovering over the toilet with Jake pulling his hair back and pushing water on him immediately after.

Now he was sitting at Jake’s small table, sipping at soup broth and talking to Amy about what it was like to see Oscorp while Jake smiled on at the two of them.

“And there were these spiders there, too!” He didn’t have as much energy as he was used to, but he was still able to muster up some of the residual excitement. “They didn’t tell us what they were doing with them, but they let us stop and look at them, and touch a couple of them.”

“Didn’t you and Jake try to keep a tarantula in his old apartment?” Amy pointed her fork between the two as she spoke. “Mr Fuzz or something like that?”

Jake laughed. “It was Captain Fuzzlord, and Peter came up with the name.”

“I was like, nine!” Peter fidgeted in his seat. “Give me a break!”

“Never.” The answer was simultaneous, and Peter took the opportunity to tease the two a bit, finishing his portion of the meal and rinsing his bowl immediately after.

“Alright, you get to sleep, now, Peter.” Jake had been really good at watching over him this time. He appreciated it.

“I’m not tired, though.”

Amy laughed as Jake started humming that damn song, looking him right in the eye. Peter could feel a yawn coming on, but tried to speak through it. “That’s, That’s not proof of,” his mouth opened to wide to form the next syllable and he opted to finish his sentence after. “That’s not proof of anything. You conditioned me to respond that way.”

“I did not! I just played the song whenever you started sleeping, and then it started making you tired!”

“Jake,” Amy laughed at the two of them, “That’s the definition of conditioning.”

“You’re the definition of conditioning.” Jake turned back to Peter. “My point still stands. Bed, now.”

“Come on, Jake. It’s barely nine!”

“You’re sick!” Jake pulled out his phone, walking Peter to his room. “You need your rest – something May and Ben agree with me on.”

The song started playing, and Peter hated that his first instinct was to get under a blanket and close his eyes. “I’m not tired!”

Amy had followed them in, standing in the doorway. “Look, Peter, if you get some extra rest, you might sleep off more of this illness. Even if you don’t get too much extra rest, if you wake up earlier than normal you can use that time and set up some pranks for Jake!”

Peter laughed as Jake responded. “Yeah, exactl- Wait, what?”

Jake whirled around, pushing Amy out of the room and closing the door behind him. Peter’s migraine was still there, but some of the noises from outside and from around him were fading as he focused on Jake and Amy’s play-fighting and the song playing out of Jake’s phone.

He was asleep before it ended.


	2. Planning the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nine-Nine sees the first time Peter gets stuck. The idea of Spider-Man is born, though it is delayed a little. 
> 
> Trust Jake to come up with the wildest, and most accurate, conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to rachel! Your comment made me realize what it was about some later stuff that bugged me so much!! Thank you to all the commenters, and all the bookmarks!
> 
> Come scream at me on tumblr. I take messages from people I don't follow (I think): putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

May would be forever grateful for Jake Peralta.

The night Peter’s parents died at the Stark Expo, leaving Peter angry, distraught, and panicked in Brooklyn without any way to get to Queens, he had gotten him home to May and Ben safely. When Peter didn’t want him to go, he had stayed and played with him, falling asleep beside Peter’s bed.

He had come back a week later to check on Peter, jumping right into a make-believe game with the kid when Peter decided he didn’t want to talk about what had happened.  That was when May and Ben had decided he was officially part of the family. They brought him into their little circle, and having someone like Jake – a man whose heart was enough of a child’s that he gladly played with Peter. As Peter grew up, Jake was the one he turned to for advice when he didn’t want to go to May and Ben.

He was a brother to Peter, and someone that he had sorely needed after two people were ripped from him.

Eventually, May had met the rest of the Nine-Nine. Having dropped Peter off with Jake for sleepovers and for babysitting, she had come to be passingly familiar with many of his coworkers.

Amy Santiago was a happy-go-lucky Study Buddy for Peter. Rosa Diaz, as distant as she made herself, liked him well enough, and seemed to have adopted him as a brother/protégé of her own. Charles’s complete acceptance of his own quirks were a good example for Peter, who was beginning to become self-conscious of things like rambling or personal passions.

As he grew up, he had become a mix of her, of Ben, and of the Nine-Nine.

So yes, May would forever be grateful for the positive influence Jake Peralta had been for her nephew. Even if he insisted on watching Die Hard with him when he was sick (and really, was something so violent really acceptable to show a fourteen-year-old?), and was more child than man some days.

She worried when she heard Peter was sick, but Jake was handling it better than he had last time, and she was getting regular updates, as well as pictures of her boy, so she wasn’t going to complain.

Besides, Ben was more worried than she was, so clearly she wasn’t reaching the benchmark for overprotective aunt just yet.

*

Peter’s recovery took a few more days, and then he was on the subway with his newly enhanced senses, doing his best to avoid a migraine before he got to school. His headphones could only drown out so much of the noise, but the subway ride was only 15 more minutes, so he would make do.

By the time he was walking into class, he was starting to get a bit restless. He was still somewhat tired from being sick, but he was also excited to see Ned and to catch up on what he missed.

“Dude, you were out so long. You okay?”

“Yeah, man.” Peter laughed as he slipped into his seat. “Jake didn’t panic this time, but Rosa said he was really distracted at the precinct.”

 “How much longer are you staying with him?”

Peter didn’t know what Ned had against Jake, but the two just hadn’t hit it off very well when Ned and Peter were younger, and it had never gotten better.

“A couple of days. You wanna come over after May and Ben get back?”

“Sure.”

The day marched on. Flash was still Flash, Michelle still called the two of them losers while sitting close to them, and Peter was still wrapped up in his schoolwork.

“Are you coming to decathalon practice if you’re staying with Jake?” The last bell was moments away.

“I mean, I don’t see why not. I told him I had it tonight. I’m just meeting with him at the precinct after.”

“Oh, does Petey have a date with the law tonight?” Flash glanced at his nails, pretending like he hadn’t been listening. “Wonder what he did this time…”

“If I tell you I helped someone hide a body would you leave me alone?”

“You don’t know anyone that would kill people.” Flash scowled. “You just wanna seem tough.”

“I mean, I don’t think she has. But she doesn’t open up a lot.” Peter turned to Ned. “I just found out she went to med school.”

Flash rolled his eyes, getting bored with Peter’s nonchalance. It was easier to pretend he didn’t care what Flash said, though, when he had the Nine-Nine to look forward to seeing. His aunt and uncle tried to protect him from the bullies of the world, and he loved them for it. Jake would tell him Flash could suck it, Amy would encourage him to show him up with his grades, and Rosa would mumble in Spanish about finding Flash in a ditch the next day. There was something nice about the three of them caring so much, and in such a different way than May and Ben.

“No way!”

While he may not have liked Jake, Ned had a massive crush on Rosa. Something about the fact she could kick almost anyone’s ass made her an idol to Ned.

“Yeah!”

The bell sounded then, prompting Peter to walk with Ned towards the auditorium for decathalon.

Today was a good day. And soon he could see some of his favorite people, even if his two favorite people were in different states right now.

Everything was turning up Parker, and for once, he wasn’t suspicious of it.

*

Which is exactly why he should have been suspicious.

He had been goofing around with Rosa, pushing her buttons just enough to get her to stand up and follow him down the hall, where Jake was waiting to throw glitter at her. Peter’s job was more thrilling, what with the chase, but Jake’s was the one where someone was very likely to die. And it would probably be Jake.

He grabbed the wall as he sped around the corner, surprised when suddenly he was stuck to it, unable to move.

Rosa stopped where she stood a moment, watching him struggle to get his hand off before letting out a short laugh. “Who glued Parker to the wall?”

There was some movement as other members of the Nine-Nine walked around to find him stuck.

Holt wasn’t amused in the slightest, but he didn’t get the first word.

“Normally I would put glue on the walls to get Hitchcock or Scully, but this one wasn’t me.” Gina hadn’t even stopped texting as she watched on, starting to laugh a bit. “Whatever you got yourself into, baby doll, I can’t help you.”

She didn’t even look as she turned around and walked back to the bullpen. Rosa stopped smiling as the others got concerned. Peter wasn’t able to get his hand off, even when Terry was helping him pull it away.

“Damn it, why won’t it come off!?” He was never going to admit how high his voice had gotten in frustration.

“Language, young man.” Holt came over, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Try one more time, and then we’ll start looking for a solution.”

Peter did, willing whatever powers that be in the universe to let him unstick from the wall.

And he did. As though there hadn’t been anything holding him there to begin with. It was Jake that made the connection.

“What happened, and why do you have superpowers?”

“Superpowers?” Amy glanced at Peter’s hand. “He was stuck to a wall, Jake.”

“Yes, stuck to a wall that had nothing sticky on it.”

Peter raised his hand. “Have you seen this precinct? There’s something gross everywhere. I’m pretty sure I saw blood between Rosa and Gina’s desks earlier.”

“Yes, but there isn’t anything sticky here.” Jake rubbed his hand against the wall before grabbing Peter’s hand. “And you’re hand isn’t gross and sticky. Conclusion? You have superpowers. Now, dish. What happened?”

“I don’t know!”

“Nothing weird’s happened lately?” Jake was way too excited about this. Amy seemed skeptical until Peter responded.

“I mean, I got bit by one of the spiders at Oscorp, but I figured that was just what made me sick…”

Holt straightened where he stood. “It was extremely irresponsible of you not to tell someone. However, given Oscorp’s… shall we say, reputation?... for advancement in bioengineering and flouting of ethics rules, it could be assumed Peralta isn’t incorrect.”

Jake started bouncing a bit where he stood, throwing his arms around Peter. “My little brother could be a superhero!”

Amy pulled Jake from Peter, making him look at her. “He doesn’t even know how to fight, and you want him being a superhero? That’s dangerous, Jake. He needs to finish school first.”

Rosa shrugged. “I could teach him to fight. Beefing up a bit, getting tougher… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for the kid.”

The whole idea was kind of exciting, now that he thought about it. If this was true, he could become a superhero! Maybe one day, he could even partner with the NYPD, or join the Avengers!

“I agree, he should remain focused on school. Learning how to use these powers and how to defend himself and others, however, is also a worthy goal. Diaz, you will be teaching Peter how to fight. I expect it to take place at least twice a week, and I want progress reports. When he’s satisfactory, then we can revisit the idea of him becoming a superhero.”

He might be a bit weird, but sometimes Holt was the best mix of Captain and father a kid could ask for.


	3. Shifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He loves the changes to his life - more time in the Nine-Nine, learning self-defense with Rosa - but not everyone is comfortable with it. 
> 
> So Peter turns to two of the most rational, sensible men he knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go give spiderboyneedsahug some love!! They've been super chill with me talking to them about some of my future plans for this fic, and their content on their tumblr (same url) is amazing!!

Peter and Rosa worked together that afternoon to put together a schedule that wouldn’t interfere with decathalon or any of his other extracurriculars. Monday, Thursday, and Friday nights, it was agreed, would be their days to do self-defense training.

“Why do you think Holt agreed to this?”

“Because he knows you and Jake.” Rosa put her foot on her desk, leaning back and looking Peter in the eye. “You two ramp each other up. He suggests something like this? You’re definitely going to follow along, because you look up to him. If Holt didn’t agree now, you would just do something stupid, like die.”

Peter nodded, looking down at his stack of papers. God, he was going to be so busy over the next couple of weeks.

“Thanks for being willing to teach me.”

“I’m not going easy on you. If you don’t have at least one bruise at the end of each session, I’ll assume I’m not working you hard enough.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Peter huffed a bit of a laugh at that, running his pencil along the sentence he was translating. “Hey Rosa, how would you translate this?”

Rosa glanced over it, reading the sentence a couple times. “Translate it yourself first, then show it to me. If it needs changed, I’ll fix it.”

Peter glanced at the sentence again before scrawling his translation out. He re-read it a few times, finally passing it to Rosa.

“You forgot to move this.” Rosa circled a word, drawing an arrow to where it belonged. She looked at Peter with her harder stare, considering something. “You and I are going to start practicing Spanish more. Come over to my apartment for lunch Saturday. I’ll give you the address on Friday. You will memorize it and then burn the paper.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Peter pulled his homework back, making the necessary edits before he put it back in its folder. “How long do you think I could talk about math before Jake gets mad?”

“I think he’d get mad faster if you got Holt and Santiago in on it.”

“Great idea.” Peter stood up, kicking his chair back, “I’ll be back, Diaz.”

*

Self-defense training with Rosa was ridiculously hard, but Peter enjoyed every minute of it.

Walking into school Tuesday with quickly fading, but still fairly prominent bruises on his arms, neck, and shoulder, though?

Worth every damn second. Flash didn’t come to harass him after he saw the bruises, his eyes bugging out of his skull as he watched Peter run up to Ned, throwing an arm around him. “You’ll never believe it! I get to spend a bunch of time down at the precinct with Diaz!”

“Dude, that’s no fair! How is your life so cool?”

Peter wasn’t going to tell him about the powers he was developing, but he was more than willing to talk about the amount of fun he was having with Rosa, or working with Santiago. There was a lot that was tangential to his plans to be a superhero that would be fun to talk about with his best friend.

“I don’t know, man!” Peter glanced at his reflection in the glass of the trophy case. The bruises along his neck were fading, and the one that showed under his sleeve, while still dark, was getting smaller.

There was a hand on his shoulder as he turned the corner towards his class. “Mister Parker.”

Principal Morita put a slight bit of pressure on his shoulder. Peter tried to emulate Rosa the few times he had seen her hurt, and did his best not to flinch. “Yes, sir?”

“Come with me, son. I need to talk to you.”

“Yes, sir.”

He was just a bit nervous. Morita didn’t really call people into the office needlessly. He was a bit annoying at times, but he was distinctly fair. To be called in with no rhyme or reason to it? That was more than a slight concern.

A couple students let out an “Ooo…” as Peter walked past them, following Principal Morita.

Once the door to his office shut, Morita gestured to a chair, slowly, like he was worried about something. “Peter… we need to talk about the bruises you came in with today.”

“What about them?”

“Son, are you okay? I know…” Morita’s hands shifted. Soon they were reaching to fidget with his collar, before he caught himself. “I know the financial situation at home isn’t the best. Are… Have things gotten worse lately?”

“Nah!” Peter felt himself bounce a bit in his chair. “A family friend started teaching me self-defense and stuff! I got a bit beat up in her lesson last night, but it’s really nothing special, Principal Morita, sir!”

“Peter, you’re safe here. You know that, right?” Principal Morita’s hands landed flat on the desk. One of his fingers started tapping at a pen nearby, but other than that, he was still. “If there’s ever anything I can do to help, you can talk to me.”

Peter didn’t like the insinuation, but he knew something like that was too important to pass off. “Thanks, Principal Morita, really. But everything’s fine!”

“Alright, Peter. My door’s always open.” His right hand moved toward his body while his left gestured to the door. “Now, get to class.”

“Yes, sir!” Peter waved. “Thank you, sir!”

All in all, that could have gone worse. Way worse. It still bugged Peter that Morita would insinuate something like that about May and Ben, though. Just because money was a little tight didn’t mean they weren’t still nice people who cared about him very much. It bugged him more than he would ever say that they put so much of the money towards him.

He had a plan, though. He knew he could do it, too. If he talked to Holt, and he did good work the next few years, he could get something closer to full-time when he was 18. He could use some of the money for college, take out loans, and then use the rest to help out May and Ben for all the years they had put towards him.

He was going to make it work.

He had to make it work.

*

Decathalon ended early, meaning Peter was a whole fifteen minutes earlier getting to the precinct after school. He would catch the subway back into Queens later, but he finally had his work papers. He could start working with Gina part-time!

Rosa, catching the colored papers in his hand, pointed him straight to the break room, where Holt was in the middle of a stare down with a far too cheerful Jake. Something hilarious was going on, and he had been around enough to catch the unspoken orders Rosa was giving him. In the process of turning in his papers, he was to get as much information on whatever half-witted scheme Peralta was cooking up, report it back to her (and likely Santiago), and pick a side (probably Jake’s for Rosa, though Peter would see about tripping up Holt a little), and develop sabotage plans. Another day at the Nine-Nine, in all honesty.

With summer coming around the corner, he was glad he had gotten the papers so quickly. He could get trained on Gina’s job just in time, and he would have something to keep him busy (and help him make some bank) throughout the summer.

He didn’t bother knocking, holding up his cover story. “I have my work papers, Captain Holt. If you want me to come back later, I can.”

“No, that’s fine, Peter. Peralta was just getting back to work.”

“Really?” Peter laughed. “Jake works?”

Jake glared at him a second before looking back at the captain. “The captain here seems to think I would do better seated away from Santiago.”

“Your workplace banter becoming a little too much banter, not enough workplace?” Peter sighed. “I told you, Jake, sometimes you gotta tone it down.”

“Peter is correct. You need to ‘tone it down’.”

Peter brushed off how weird it felt to watch Holt use airquotes, instead opting to laugh at the look of betrayal on Jake’s face. “Come sit with me and Gina! That should be fun!”

Jake caught on to what Peter was planning pretty quickly, though Captain Holt didn’t seem to see the problem with putting the teenager, the man-child, and the most dramatic person in the office together in a small space.

The next few days were going to be interesting, to say the least.

*

Rosa would deny her attachment to Peter Parker, but watching him act completely innocent three days later, when seating Jake, Peter, and Gina together backfired spectacularly made her just a little bit proud. The kid couldn’t lie to save his life, but he knew how to run around a subject. She was proud to say she taught him that particular skill, too. He would do great if this superhero thing panned out like Jake was hoping it would.

Nonetheless, she had training with him that night, and she would be damned if Holt stopped that because of a workplace mishap. Mishap meaning Peter had a small cut on his cheek, Santiago looked a happy mix of panicked and resigned to her fate, and Gina was livetweeting Jake’s face as he went through the various stages of grief watching the coffee pot that had fallen to the ground.

It wasn’t even the most extreme of incidences that had happened since Peter, Gina, and Jake sat together. That award went to the time Gina dared Peter to set his chair on his desk, stand on it, and do a backflip. Peter had kicked a ceiling tile in, sprained his ankle, and jacked up his shoulder and elbow (an injury Rosa would never admit to treating. Sometimes medical school paid off).

No, this had been a small argument between Jake and Gina – something about some childhood story one had told wrong – that had gotten blown out of proportion. Peter had poured them coffee and tried to coax them out of their feud, only for Gina to smack the pot down, crashing it into the desk. Peter had tried to go down with it, trying to catch the hot glass, burning himself slightly on the palms. When the glass shattered, a piece of it embedded itself in his cheek a tad. Rosa had already removed it and taped gauze over the wound.

Blood wouldn’t run on the precinct floors unless she was the one spilling it.

*

“Peter, why are you learning self-defense?”

“Peter, you don’t need to keep getting hurt like this.”

“Peter, you’re fine, you don’t need to learn how to fight.”

May and Ben were worried, he understood. He really did. But it was so frustrating. He didn’t know what to tell them, and maybe that’s what found him in the front seat of Jake’s car, working up the nerve to talk to knock on Holt and Kevin’s door.

“You can do this, kid. I know you.” Jake wrapped a shoulder around him. “Besides, if it doesn’t go well, we can always go with Plan B.”

“Plan B?” Peter laughed some of his nerves off. “I like Plan B. Soda, ice cream, and playing guitar together to avoid talking about our problems sounds like a much better way to spend the evening.”

“Nope.” Jake shook his head, getting that smile on his face that spoke volumes about what he was thinking. In this case it was a healthy fear of the lecture he would get from Amy if he didn’t follow her lead on this. “If I go back and tell Amy you didn’t at least knock this night won’t go well for either of us.”

“I know, I know.” Peter shrugged. “If this goes really horribly,” and while his sense of danger wasn’t sparking, he was still nervous, “what song will we work on?”

“How about ‘Wannabe?”

Peter laughed. “Yeah. We should totally do that one. And ‘The A Team’.”

“Depends on how late we get home from the ice cream and soda, bud. Your aunt told me if you were staying with me on a school night, I had to have you in bed by ten.” Jake shook his head, looking out of the dashboard window. “And if there is one lady that I don’t work with that I don’t want to piss off, it’s May.”

Peter laughed. “I’m going in.”

“And I’m here for you when you come out." Jake tapped his hand against Peter's shoulder before pulling him in. "You've got this, buddy." 

"Thanks, Jake."

And he opened the car door. 


	4. The least of our problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter talks to Kevin and Raymond, and Jake runs into a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all of you for reading! I didn't expect this to be so popular, and it makes me so happy to see people enjoying it! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Seriously, thank you so much for reading, liking, and commenting! Seeing people enjoy this makes my day!

Peter stayed in the car another second, the door remaining open as he whipped his head around to face Jake. “Are you sure about this? Like, are we really sure this is a good idea?”

Jake’s head met the steering wheel. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“What?”

“You were just about to go in there!”

“I know, but now I’m worried that I can’t!”

Jake hit his head against the steering wheel, right between his hands, a couple more times. When he came back up, he looked at Peter, angling his body. “I promise you that if you don’t go in there yourself, I will drag you in there-“

“Are you strong enough?”

“I’ll call Rosa and have Rosa drag you in there, and you won’t get to have the conversation on your terms, because I’ll be interrupting you every few seconds and Rosa will be glaring at Holt’s interior decorating.”

“Good point, that’s not gonna end well.” Peter sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the headrest. Jake tried not to laugh as Holt walked towards the car. “Ugh, why am I such a chicken!?”

“Whatever reason you have to believe yourself a ‘chicken’, I believe it will be better discussed inside.” Holt gently grabbed Peter’s shoulder, guiding him out of the car and towards the door. “Peralta?”

Jake looked out the dashboard window, recognizing the man down the street. “Yeah?”

 “Are you coming?”

“Um…” Peter came first. He glanced at him, watching Peter shake his head. “Nah, nah. You guys enjoy your chat. I have a quick errand to run.”

“Alright, then.”

Holt and Peter walked into the house, while Jake started driving.

That man down the street… oh it would be wonderful to finally arrest him.

“Hey, Doug Judy! How’s life treating you?”

*

Peter loved Captain Holt, but he was closer to Kevin. He was a professor of English – something Peter seriously admired because English class was _hard_ – and he always made time for Peter. They met every two weeks to have tea and talk about the last book Kevin had assigned Peter. At the end of those meetings, he would return the book, and Kevin would hand him a new one.

It was fun, and it had helped his English grade a lot over the years.

“Hello, Peter. How are you?”

“I’m… I’m really conflicted.”

Holt closed the door, gesturing for Peter to follow him and Kevin into the sitting room. “What’s wrong?”

Peter looked between Holt and Kevin. “My aunt and uncle are really worried about me learning self-defense, and I don’t like keeping things from them. If it’s this hard before I’ve even started really doing anything superhero-ey, I don’t know how I’ll do it later.”

“First, ‘superhero-ey’ isn’t a word. Second, Raymond mentioned you and Peralta had come up with some scheme for you to become said superhero. When he told me he had supported it, I thought it was a rather reckless idea, but his reasoning was sound. I have a few questions for you, though, and I want your most honest answers.

“Do you want to hide it because you’re worried they won’t let you continue on this path? Are you willing to suffer potentially grievous injury and then pretend as though nothing is wrong for their sake? Finally, why do you want to be a superhero to begin with?”

Peter took a few moments to mull over his response.

“I guess…”

“I don’t want your guess, I want your answer.” Sometimes the college professor in Kevin would manifest itself at the best possible times, and then fade as he moved topics. “I have dinner cooking right now. You will eat with us, and we will resume this conversation afterward. I assume it was Peralta that brought you?”

“Yeah, but he said he had an errand to run while I was here…”

“Excellent. I understand Raymond enjoys him, but I find him a tad grating.”

Peter chuckled a bit. “That’s okay. My best friend can’t stand him.”

Kevin smiled as he guided Peter into the dining room.

*

“Jake! I can’t believe it man! You know, I was just thinking about you!”

What was it about that enchanting smile that always made Jake forget Doug Judy was a criminal?

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was just wondering how you were!” Doug pointed towards his car. “Let’s grab a bite, and we can catch up!”

“Sure!” The ‘Amy on his shoulder’ started screaming at him, though, and suddenly he remembered why he was talking to Doug in the first place. “Wait, no! You’re a criminal! I have to arrest you!”

“But you can’t arrest me for something I haven’t done!” Doug smiled. “Not without evidence, at least. But, come on, Jakey! We haven’t seen each other in ages. Let’s laugh it up a little!”

Oh screw it, if Peter was going to be pouring his heart out to Holt and Kevin (which, good, because Jake was not good at solutions to problems unless those solutions involved schemes and/or crimes, in which case he was very good at solutions) Jake could talk to Doug Judy and catch up with him. Besides, maybe Doug had cleaned up his act, and Jake would be able to actually hang out with him without having to try to arrest him.

*

Dinner at Kevin and Holt’s was usually a fairly reserved matter. The conversation revolved around Kevin’s work, the New York Times’ Crossword Puzzle, or articles the two of them had recently read and enjoyed. It was nice.

It was also over too quickly, and Peter still didn’t know how to feel about some of those questions.

Kevin stood, putting water in a kettle to boil. “Would you be more comfortable speaking with just me, or with both Raymond and myself?”

Peter looked down at his hands. “I’m… I’m not sure.”

Kevin pulled out three mugs for tea. “I will need an answer, Peter.”

Peter took a breath. If he was going to be a superhero, he had to be more decisive. “I want both of you here.”

Kevin nodded, smiling as he poured water into the mugs. “Chamomile or green?”

“Chamomile.” Peter had to fight to keep his leg from bouncing under the table.

“Green, please, Kevin.” Holt nodded at his husband, smiling slightly as he took the tea in his hands. “Thank you.”

“Thanks, Kevin.”

“Now, Peter. The questions I asked you earlier…” Kevin’s eyes didn’t leave Peter’s.

“Yeah…” Peter took another breath. This decisiveness thing sucked. “May and Ben want what’s best for me, but I don’t think they would like this idea at all. May would freak, and Ben would be so worried!

“But Ben’s always saying that with great power there’s great responsibility, and I think they would understand. Maybe May would be a bit hesitant at first, and I think Ben would lay down a ton of rules, but I think they would get it.”

“And injuries? How will you handle it when you’re injured?”

Peter looked down at the table, feeling his knee rising and falling a bit. He was starting to get the hang of being decisive, at least right now, but he was still nervous. “Rosa’s already teaching me self-defense, and she did what was it? Like, three years of med school?” Peter shrugged. “I was going to talk to her about if she would help me with injuries.”

Holt’s brows furrowed and he gestured toward Peter. “But what if your injuries are too severe for Rosa to treat?”

“I’ve been healing a lot faster lately, so I think I have some sort of healing factor. Considering that, I figured I would talk to May and Ben. They’re nurses, so they might know a doctor that could keep it quiet.”

Holt nodded. “I believe Kevin and I know someone fairly reputable that would be willing to maintain a certain level of discretion in these cases as well. We will reach out to him once we are closer to actualizing this idea.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“No need, Peter.” Holt leaned forward. “I want to see you succeed, no matter what it is you do with your life. I hope you understand, though, that college will still be an expectation.”

Peter nodded. That had always been an expectation, though Peter still hadn’t considered how he would handle that if he did become a superhero.

“Now,” Kevin sipped at his tea before continuing. “The final question of the evening: why do you want to help people?”

Peter held Kevin’s gaze as he answered. “Ben and May are nurses, and Jake and everyone in the Nine-Nine fight crime, and you teach people. Everyone around me has a way to help out and give back to the community, but I never really did until now. Now that I have these powers, if something happens and I can stop it, but I don’t, that’s on me. I can’t let that happen. If I can help out in the community, it’s my responsibility to do so.”

Kevin and Holt nodded at him. “I can appreciate that. I take it your lessons with Rosa are going well?”

“Yeah!” Peter brightened at that. “They’re really fun! Rosa doesn’t go easy on me, either, meaning I’m learning a lot more than I thought for such a short period of time.”

“Excellent.” Kevin checked his watch. “It's getting late. Has Peralta returned from his errand?”

Holt looked out the window. “I do not believe so.”

“It’s been an hour and a half, what could be taking him so long?”


	5. Digging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter stays with Rosa when Jake doesn't show up, and Jake starts hearing whispers about a crook returning to New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your comments, kudos, and views! I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story! I think Doug Judy's going to be a bit more of a presence going forward than originally planned, but I think it'll be for the best! 
> 
> Thanks again for reading! Come scream at me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Dinner with Doug Judy had gone fairly well, and now Jake was picking up the tampons Amy had asked him for, not even really thinking about it until he reached into his pocket to pay.

“My wallet. That sneaky bastard!”

“Sir, I need you to pay for these.”

“Well, my wallet’s been stolen, so you’re gonna have to cancel the purchase!”

“Sir?”

“My wallet’s been stolen!” Jake shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re working retail, and you really don’t need me yelling at you. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m going to put these back, and then I’m going to try and get my wallet back.”

The girl behind the counter smiled bemused at him, “That’s not the worst reason I’ve ever been yelled at behind this counter, sir. I appreciate the apology. Good luck! Come again!”

“Thank you.” Jake turned towards the feminine hygiene aisle, throwing the tampons back on the shelf and turning to jog out of the store. “Have a nice night, cashier chick!”

“You too, sir!”

*

After another fifteen minutes had passed, Peter called Amy. While Holt was disappointed in Jake, it wasn’t unheard of for him to get caught up following something suspicious and trying to figure it out. It was what made him a good detective, despite his immaturity.

“I’m sorry, Peter. Do you have a key to Jake’s, or do you want to stay with me?”

“I left my key in Jake’s car. How close are you to a crosstown subway station?”

“A couple blocks, at least. I usually drive into work.”

“Okay. Can you drop me off somewhere, then?”

Rosa had given him her address on the condition that anyone taking him there dropped him off three blocks south and six blocks east of the location, and he walked the rest of the way, cutting through two narrow alleys to minimize the risk of being followed. Given it was almost nine-fifteen at night when Amy dropped him off, he just told her not to follow him, and that he was walking to Rosa’s from there.

While Amy wasn’t happy about it, she understood Rosa was an extremely private person, and had only given Peter her address for these kinds of events.

“See ya, Ames!”

“See you soon, Peter!”

“Tell Jake I said ‘payback’s a bitch’.”

Amy rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky I don’t tell May about that mouth of yours.”

“Sure, sis. Whatever.” Peter waved, pulling his headphones out with his other hand. Plugging them in and selecting a playlist as he walked, he kept his eyes open around him. The enhanced senses had come in handy lately. Using Rosa’s advice on finding ways to use them covertly, he had realized that keeping his music at a low volume didn’t impede his ability to hear it anymore, and it also didn’t impede his ability to hear his surroundings. It was a perfect balance if he kept two notches above mute; he was aware of his surroundings while still listening to the playlist.

The evening cold was a bit of an annoyance, though, since getting his powers. Unless he was layered up, he was shivering within minutes. It was early April, though, meaning the summer would be around the corner.

Since Rosa had moved, their procedure for him coming over was a bit different. Her old place had been on the first floor, in the middle of the hallway. This had meant a specific knocking pattern and then waiting before repeating it, twice.

Her new place was still low to the ground – second floor. Because he had to be buzzed in, though, he would buzz three times, wait a minute, then buzz in again, saying only ‘araña’ before waiting another minute for her to let him in.

She had thought it was funny to make spider-related jokes ever since the origin of his powers had come to light. She had stuck to some less than obvious ones for the most part, other than his little codename.

Overall, it didn’t take long before he was at her door, knocking once more and waiting for her to let him in.

“What are you doing here, squirt?”

Peter shifted his bag higher on his shoulder. “Jake wasn’t there to pick me up. Amy dropped me at the usual spot and I walked here.”

“It’s almost nine-thirty. Are you stupid?” She moved aside and let him in. Since she had been assigned to teach him self-defense (and, less officially, to be his long-term ‘handler’ once he started his work as a superhero) she had taken a far more observant and involved position in his life.

“No. I figured if I didn’t cut the two alleys, I could stay where there were street lights. I waited for Amy to drive off, and just to make sure, I walked up street a couple of blocks before doubling back. I kept my eyes open for anyone following me, and I followed all of our codes to the letter. You trusted me with your address, I’m not going to let you down.”

“You’d better not.” She pulled the couch out into a bed, grabbing some sheets and throwing a pillow at him. “Do your homework if you haven’t already and then go to sleep. You have school in the morning.”

“Thanks, Rosa.”

He knew not to mention it, but he saw her soften just a bit. “Don’t mention it, kid.”

*

By the time Jake tracked Doug Judy down, he was in an entirely different part of Brooklyn and far away from Holt.

“God, Peter’s gotta be pissed.” He pulled his phone out as he knocked on the door to the apartment Doug Judy’s little scavenger hunt – led entirely by cryptic texts from Doug Judy that required a photograph of the location he was sending Jake to, and talking to specific people Doug Judy couldn’t for whatever reason. Dialing Holt, he flinched at the hard tone the Captain used with him.

“Where are you, Peralta? Santiago picked Peter up almost 45 minutes ago.”

“She did? Oh, god, I owe her big time.” Jake shook his head. “Look, I ran into Doug Judy while I was out, and long story short, he stole my wallet and sent me looking for it all over Brooklyn, and now I should be getting it back. I am so sorry, Captain Holt. It won’t happen again.”

“I hope for Peter’s sake you’re right. He didn’t say it, but he was worried for you.”

“He’s my next phone call, I swear.”

“He had better be. You will be updating me on this matter in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.” He knew when his hand was played, and right now he had nothing.

“Good night, then. And good luck.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

He sighed as no one answered. “Come on, Doug Judy, I don’t have all night!” He knocked again, a little harder this time.

*

Peter’s homework was mostly finished, so he spent the evening sitting on the couch-bed and reading on his phone while Rosa worked on some reports for Holt.

“Should I learn how to use a knife?”

“Excuse me?” Rosa looked up.

“I mean, you’ve been teaching me to defend against one, but should I be learning how to use one?”

Rosa looked at him a moment. “Yes. We’ll start on that next week.”

Peter nodded, turning back to his phone. He had about twenty minutes before he would be going to sleep, and he had a low battery already.

“Do you have a spare charger?”

“What kind do you need?”

“Micro-USB.”

Rosa nodded, standing up. Peter knew better than to watch her while she grabbed it – even if she hadn’t minded for this, it was generally understood between the two of them he didn’t look while she grabbed something, in case she wanted its location to remain private – and instead switched apps to text Ned.

_Staying with Diaz tonight, so I’ll be early to school tomorrow. Wanna meet up and study?_

Rosa walked in front of him, handing him the charger. She sat on the edge of the mattress, not looking at him. “You’re alright?”

“Huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “Peralta didn’t show up. You worry about people. Are you alright?”

Peter shrugged. “I mean, I’m worried, of course. I’m gonna call him later, though. Before I go to sleep.”

Rosa nodded. “Jake is capable. He’s stupid, and he’s immature, but he’s capable.”

Peter nodded.

It was silent for a moment. Peter heard more than he felt his phone vibrate, but he didn’t look at it. “Do you think when I start this hero stuff, when I get better at it, I could use it to help you guys out?”

“What do you mean?” He could hear the edge in Rosa’s voice, but he wasn’t sure what it meant.

“I mean, yeah I want to go to college, but that’s a lot of money. Who knows what could happen between now and then? I’ve always wondered if maybe working at the precinct wouldn’t be a bad idea, maybe make and save some money. If I could use my powers to help out, well…”

Rosa punched his shoulder. Hard. “You’re going to college, end of discussion.”

“But what if I can’t afford it after high school?”

“Then you’ll find a way. I don’t care if you’re working full-time and doing night classes on the side, you’re going to college.”

“So I could work at the precinct and make it through college?”

Rosa rolled her eyes. “Wherever you work, you’re the one that’ll be responsible for getting to and acing your classes. If you graduate with less than a 4.0, I will be disappointed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Peter chuckled, curling into the couch-bed a bit more.

Rosa looked at him a moment. He could feel her eyes on him. He could feel her hand approaching him before it even met his hair, moving through it like Jake often did.

“It’ll work out, okay. We’ll find a way. You’ve got us, Ben, and May. We can make it work.”

A few minutes later, Peter’s phone was plugged in, Rosa was back in front of her reports, and it was like nothing had happened. But if there was one thing Peter had learned, it was that Rosa opened up when you didn’t make a big deal about it.

So he didn’t mention it again that night, and he didn’t mention it the next day, either.

*

Jake scowled at Doug Judy as the man explained himself.

“Look, Jake. I can’t talk to those people, or I risk falling back into my old ways, and I’m done with that life.”

“Sure you are.” Jake nodded, a little perturbed with his friend/enemy. “Which is why you stole my wallet.”

“I stole your wallet to motivate you.”

“I don’t care why you did it, I care that I’m stuck here, after having gone with you to see your grandma, only to find out you didn’t plan on coming back, and that you had my wallet.”

“Well, I still appreciate you passing that information off to me. Now, here's your wallet back.”

Jake checked it, and seeing all of his stuff still in it (minus, possibly, a few dollars in cash, but he wasn’t entirely sure), looked up at Doug Judy. “Now I’m curious. Why was I talking to those people?”

“I’ve heard some rumors, and I figured I’d keep my ear to the ground, just in case. Apparently an old acquaintance of mine’s back in New York, doing some muggings in the Queens area. There’s talk he’s got connections to a bigger organization, but that’s all talk.”

Jake nodded, making a note of it. “If I asked, would you be willing to keep me in the loop on anymore of this talk?”

“You mean like a partner?”

“More like a police informant.”

“So like your criminal intelligence partner?”

Jake mulled it over a second before smiling. “Yeah!” That sounded so much cooler! 

Doug Judy returned the gesture, clapping a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I would be honored, Jakey.”

Jake moved towards the door, lifting his phone out of his pocket. “Alright. I’ve got to get a hold of Peter. Keep me posted!”

“You got it! Stay safe!”


	6. We'll Have His Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy is introduced, Ned worries, and Peter has a needed conversation with Ben and May.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit over a hundred Kudos on this story, and I just wanted to thank you guys for reading! I'm so glad so many of you are enjoying this story! Sorry this chapter is a little light on the Brooklyn Nine-Nine characters! They'll be coming back soon!

Peter trudged up the stairs to his homeroom, somewhat glad to be early to school. May and Ben had been nervous when he said Jake hadn’t picked him up and that he was staying with Rosa – she hadn’t made the best first impression all those years ago, and while they trusted her to keep Peter safe, they worried about her influence on him – but ultimately it had been uneventful. A text from Jake soothed his worries, and Rosa and he had sat in silence, doing their own things while occupying the same space.

Ned wasn’t there early that morning. He came in at the normal time, sitting by Peter and not meeting his eyes.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you? You’re not talking or anything.”

Ned shook himself off a bit, finally looking Peter in the eye. “I’m just a little freaked out, that’s all.”

“What happened?”

“Some guy in my building got mugged the other night, and the police were there. Apparently they think it’s some guy from years back who committed a string of muggings and murders, but they don’t know for sure.”

“I can ask Jake or Rosa about it, if you’d like.” Peter made a note to do so anyway, regardless of what Ned said. If he wanted to be a superhero, he had to start paying attention to this stuff.

“I mean, Queens isn’t their jurisdiction.”

“No, but they’re cops, and they might know some people who know something about this.”

Ned shrugged. “Just be careful, alright?”

“You got it.”

As the bell rang, Peter leaned over. “Oh, and, Ned?”

“What?” Ned was pulling his stuff together as the announcements started.

“’Just Be Careful, Alright?’, name of your sex tape.”

“Goddammit, Peter.” Ned groaned as Peter cackled. “Of all the terrible ideas and habits to pick up from Jake Peralta, you chose ‘name of your sex tape’?”

“You say that like I picked up only one.”

“Oh, god. Peter, no!”

“Peter, yes!”

Ned rolled his eyes. “That meme died ages ago.”

The announcements wrapped up, and Peter and Ned had to split for classes.

*

They didn’t see each other again until lunch. Their morning classes this year were separate, while their afternoons were mostly together.”

“I hope we have a better schedule for sophomore year.”

“Same, man.” Peter shoved one of the cafeteria chicken nuggets into his mouth. “Ugh, these things are nasty!”

“You never complained before?”

Peter shrugged. “Guess it’s just that kind of day.” He wasn’t about to tell Ned that, while the chicken nuggets had always tasted vaguely of wet bread, they tasted worse now that his senses were ramped up and he could taste the nastiness _under_ the taste of wet bread.

Yeah, not pleasant.

Ned nodded, pulling a textbook out. “I hate this English class. We’re all going into STEM, anyway. Why do we need English?”

“I don’t know, man.” Peter pulled a small box of raisins May had thrown in his bag out. He hated raisins (May and Ben insisted they were healthy), but he was always so hungry anymore that he found himself chomping down on whatever snack May slipped in.

He threw one in the air, glancing to Ned after catching it in his mouth. “But, either way, I’ve already read the book.”

“No fair! Really?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna use some of the stuff Kevin and I talked about with it for my essay.”

“Lucky.” Ned pulled out a pencil, marking his notebook with a line reference, listing some of his ideas. “This essay is going to kill me.”

“Sorry, man.”

It was a good day. Today was the best chance he had to talk to May and Ben. He would already be in a good mood, and if things hit the fan, he would only have a few hours before he would be going to sleep that May and Ben could lecture him about reckless behavior.

*

Happy Hogan didn’t know what to think of the kid with the bruise across his face, one that was healing far too fast, but he appreciated the kid having his back. He hadn’t seen the knifeman behind him, but the kid had come up, controlled the knife arm, and then took the man down, throwing the knife to the side and holding him down until the frightening woman he was walking with came by and cuffed him.

“Rosa, that was so cool!” The kid was bouncing between his feet. “Do you think I’m almost ready?”

The kid looked fourteen, at the oldest. Whatever he could be ‘ready’ for, Happy wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Thanks, kid. Watch your own back, next time, though. Yeah?”  Happy turned back to the car. He had two more things to do, and then this weird project of Tony’s would be (hopefully) over.

“He’s right. Next time you do something stupid with no warning it’s reps and then you’re sparring for four minutes.”

“With you?”

“Me for the first two minutes. Terry after that.”

“Shit.”

Happy closed the door to the car as he heard the woman admonish the kid for swearing, saying something about an “Aunt May”. He loved living in the city, but sometimes the city could be so freaking weird.

*

Peter walked into the apartment, not really caring to think about Rosa’s lecture. She was right, of course – he had endangered himself recklessly, without warning his back-up. Even with the argument that he wouldn’t have backup as a superhero, she wouldn’t hear it.

_“You’re not a superhero yet, though, so be more careful. You still bleed, so you still die.”_

That was enough to shut him up for the rest of the trip back to Queens.

“Hey Ben, May.”

“Hey, Peter.” Ben sat up a bit from his position on the couch, setting his book down. “Sit down, bud.”

“What’s up?” He took the place next to May, feeling her put an arm around him.

Ben looked him in the eye. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with the Nine-Nine. You’re learning self-defense… are you okay?”

Peter was relieved to hear it was concern and that he wasn’t in trouble. “Oh, yeah!” Peter felt himself relax as May’s fingers started carding through his hair. “I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something. It has to do with the self-defense thing. Something happened a few weeks ago, and I’ve been developing powers. I was hoping…”

He didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

May finished it for him. “You want to use those powers, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah.” Peter could feel her tense, could hear the slight shift in Ben’s breath. “For good, obviously! I want to help people!”

Neither of them liked it, that much was clear. May’s fingers had stilled slightly, only to start up again, slower than before. Ben was looking at his hands.

“It’s dangerous, Peter.”

“I would have the Nine-Nine watching my back! And Holt signed off on it!” Peter sat up a bit, feeling May’s hand drop to his shoulder. “I just want to help people.”

May pat his shoulder, prompting him to stand up. “Go to your room, give Ben and I fifteen minutes, okay? We need to talk this through.”

She turned to Ben the second the door shut. “He wants to be a superhero!”

Ben hadn’t moved much. “We’ve been telling him for years that with great power comes great responsibility. Now he has extraordinary powers. It makes sense he would want to take responsibility.”

“No, it doesn’t! He’s fourteen!”

Ben stood up, heading over to the small kitchen to start some tea. “He’s fourteen, and his family is entirely compromised of cops and nurses. And one classics professor. I don’t know, May. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to let him.”

“I know. That’s what I hate the most about this whole thing, I know it’s not a bad idea to let him.” She shook her head. “If we tell him no, he’s already got the idea in his head. He might do it behind our back, and the Nine-Nine’s. This way, we can help him.”

While the water boiled, Ben pulled May closer, holding her a moment in his arms. “You’re still not okay with this, and if you’re against it, I’ll have your back.”

She shook her head. “No. I won’t stop him.” She shuddered. “But we need to do what we can to keep him safe. If he got hurt…”

Ben didn’t need to look at her to know there were tears in her eyes at the very thought. Peter was more their son than their nephew, and no parent should have to watch their child suffer. No parent should have to worry they would one day bury their child.

“We’ll set a curfew. He’ll have to report to the closest person he trusts when he’s injured.” Ben felt his mind racing. “He has to take days off between superhero-ing. We’ll make it work.”

May nodded, still a bit choked up. “I don’t want him getting hurt.”

“I know.”

Neither one of them needed to say it to know that if Peter did this, getting hurt was going to be inevitable.


	7. Forward Momentum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one's ever really ready, but Rosa knows Peter is as ready as he'll ever be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who reads, kudos, and comments! It makes my day to read you guys' comments, and I have to physically restrain myself from replying to some of them, otherwise I might spoil parts of the story! 
> 
> I hit over a hundred kudos, so thank you, thank you, thank you!! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Jake walked into the precinct gym to see Rosa slam Peter into the ground.

“You need to use your shoulder like a spear.” She stood back, letting Peter get up on his own. “You do that, _then_ you ram your hip into my side. It destabilizes your opponent.”

Peter nodded as Rosa leaned down, picking up a martial arts shield. As soon as she had it, he started working it, punching it hard enough that Rosa started flinching after a minute.

“Now elbows. Elbows!” Rosa’s eyebrows drew together as Peter grabbed the back of her neck and drove into the shield with his forearm. After a few of those, she dropped the shield, and Peter, despite his scrawny look and kind nature, took her down the same we she had him.

She nodded as she stood up. “You see the difference?”

“Yeah.”

“Then go get one of those training knives out of my bag.”

Rosa gestured for Jake to come over and join them. “You’re enjoying this _way_ too much.”

“The kid’s a quick study. His reflexes used to be shit. I think the spider bite did something.”

“Lucky for us, then. Maybe he won’t get as badly hurt.”

Rosa shook her head. “He’s still reckless and selfless. He’d throw himself in front of a bullet for a stranger and you know it. With his healing factor, that’s even more likely.”

“I thought you said he was getting smarter?”

Rosa made a motion to acknowledge Peter as he said he was running to the bathroom. “He was. Then he saw someone about to get stabbed and involved himself.”

“He doesn’t even have a mask, though.” Jake shook his head, his hands flailing in front of his face. “We told him to conceal his identity!”

Rosa looked him in the eye. “You know him better than anybody. Kid has a heart.” Her face screwed up a moment. “Ugh. Gross.”

“Yeah, well, don’t kill him too much. I’ve still gotta get him home to his aunt and uncle. You’ve met May.”

Rosa’s eyes bugged a bit until Peter walked back in. There were few people that inspired that kind of fear, but after the first time Rosa drew a weapon in Peter’s vicinity she understood why Jake freaked out a little whenever May was on the warpath. She had almost tried to get Peter to sign something saying he wouldn’t talk about what she taught him.

Jake looked down at his phone. “Hey, May invited you to dinner with us.”

“You’re eating over there?”

“Of course! Ben’s cooking is amazing! We’ve got about twenty minutes before we leave.”

Rosa nodded. “Alright then.”

*

May liked Rosa. She loved Rosa, in fact, because when Rosa first met Peter she had walked up to May and Ben and said “You did good.”

It wasn’t much, but it meant the world to May, who had been stressing ever since taking in Peter. She never knew if she was doing the right thing, and knowing Ben had the same insecurities didn’t make her feel any better.

So, naturally, the second she walked in the door, May was pulling her into a hug. “Come in! Want some wine?”

“No thank you, Mrs. Parker.” Rosa smiled at her, making Jake laugh.

“Ha! You _do_ smile!”

Rosa’s smile flattened, and her entire face went neutral. May started laughing as she got out the plates and the silverware. “Peter, go get a shower and change, alright?”

“Alright, May. Larb you!”

Rosa snickered. “That’s where he got it?”

“What? ‘Larb you’?” May laughed. “Yeah. He got it from us. When Ben first told me he loved me, he got so nervous he messed up the word, and we’ve been saying it ever since.”

Ben came in, slipping the food onto plates as he started his own portion of the conversation. “I think between us and everyone at the precinct he’s picked up everyone’s best traits, but few of the bad ones.”

“I don’t know.” The look in Rosa’s eye should have been enough of a warning for Jake, but he was never one known for being clever. “He and Jake give each other a run for their money when it comes to stupid stunts. Peter almost won an office contest.”

“Oh, god.” Ben shook his head, laughing as he walked back to the stove, grabbing a pan from the oven and moving vegetables onto the five plates. “He’s getting better at that stuff? Well, maybe if he gets it out of his system now, his college days won’t be so crazy.”

May shook her head, smiling. “If his college days are half of the insanity ours were, I might just have a heart attack.”

“If I remember, we agreed never to tell our parents about our college days. If we’re lucky, we’ll only hear the good stories, or get calls when he really needs help. I don’t want to know the crazy parties he goes to.”

“What about the superhero thing, though?”

Peter walked in, an old pair of sweatpants around his waist and a bright pink “I STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD” T-shirt on that Jake was fairly certain Peter had gotten from Amy.

“You’re going to college, that is non-negotiable.” Ben pointed a spatula at Peter as he spoke. “Your brain is too much to use for being just a superhero. You could be the next Tony Stark, if you really wanted.”

“Yeah, sure.” Peter rolled his eyes. “But I guess there are a lot of colleges in the area.”

“Now you’re thinkin’ with your head on straight.” The spatula was put on the pan while Ben clamped a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You have the potential to do so much good, Peter. Being a superhero is only going to be a part of it.”

Peter smiled at that. Things would work out. They always had, and he had some of the best people in the world around him. “Do you really think I could be the next Tony Stark?”

The idea of living up to a standard as high as his hero made him feel warm, light. Rosa scoffed at the obvious excitement and adoration, muttering in Spanish about ‘dumbass teenagers’ and ‘stupid emotions’. It was nice to know she cared.

Ben set the pan down in the kitchen, sitting at the table before looking Peter in the eye and answering.

“I think you could be _better_.”

*

Happy couldn’t stop thinking about the damn kid. He had been a bit sloppy, but there had been something unnaturally fast and fluid about his movements. Even after he and the chick had left (Rosalie? Rose? Rosa. Rosa was her name.), the kid had moved not unlike a dancer.

Not unlike Romanoff, who he was sitting and waiting for in a rented-out space in a community center, while she practiced with an amateur dance troupe. He needed to stop thinking so hard about his life, because the weirder it got, the more he wondered how he had stayed sane through all of it.

The leader, a woman named Gina that reminded Happy of Tony’s younger years when he was fresh out of college, clapped twice, calling attention to her as the practice ended.

“Alright, bitches. You all did splendidly. Now, all we need to do is kick this competition’s ass!”

There was some more motivational speech, a few minutes of chatter, and then Natasha was walking towards him. They walked, silent, until they reached the car.

“Thank you, again, for driving me.”

“Boss would kill me if I let any of you walk all the way to Brooklyn.”

She didn’t laugh, necessarily, but it was something close.

“Why do you do it? The dance troupe, I mean.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, everything in her body communicating for her.

“You could join any company, any organization you want. Why some dinky club dance team in Brooklyn?”

Natasha looked out the window. “They dance because they enjoy it. They don’t bother with perfect form or presentation.

“It’s nice to do something for fun once in a while.”

Happy nodded, continuing the, by now, all too familiar drive from Brooklyn to Manhattan. “Did I tell you I saw a kid drop a guy with a knife the other day?”

“A kid?”

“Maybe fourteen, I’d guess.”

Their conversation lasted the rest of the car-ride.

*

By the time dinner ended, Rosa worked up the nerve to say it.

“I think he’s ready.”

May and Ben went still, Peter straightened. Jake got a shit-eating grin on his face, and Rosa had to resist the urge to hit him to wipe it off his face. This was serious, damn it!

May nodded, while Ben bustled into the kitchen to put things away. They were both shaken, but she knew Peter had talked to them. They weren’t going to stop him.

“We have some rules, then.”

Rosa nodded. “That’s fair.” She looked at Peter, who was watching his aunt, attention completely focused. “You break them, and you have to answer to me.”

His gaze flicked to her, and he nodded before his eyes were back on his aunt.

“What are your rules?”

May straightened. “First off, we are allowed to change the rules if this starts interfering with your grades, your work, or your social life. We are looking out for you, and if we think this is becoming too much then we will stop it.

“Second, your curfew is midnight on a school night. If things go well, we can discuss you staying out later on weekends.

“Third, if you’re injured, you go to the closest person you can trust’s house. That means if it’s near Jake’s, you go there. Rosa’s, same thing. I don’t want you travelling too far on injuries. Am I understood?”

Peter nodded. “Absolutely. You can change the rules as needed, midnight on school nights, and if I’m injured I go to someone.”

May nodded. “Good. Finally, stay safe. Ben and I don’t want to see you hurt, but we know that’s inevitable. At the very least, then, don’t get yourself killed.”

“That’s not the plan.”

May wasn’t amused. "It never is."

Jake put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Whenever you need us, man, just let us know. Amy and I are here for you, and so is everyone else in the precinct.”

Peter leaned into the touch. “Thanks, guys.”

No one mentioned it, later, when Rosa took him off to the side and hugged him, whispering about not letting him die if she could help it.


	8. A Dangerous Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter starts out as a superhero, and May begins to face the emotional reality of her youngest being put in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, May and Ben totally de-facto adopted Jake. And Rosa, but none of them acknowledge it.

Peter pulled the capo off his guitar at May’s call. “Coming!”

“You’re supposed to meet the team at Raymond and Kevin’s in an hour!” She shook her head, smiling. “Go get ready, you’ve got fifteen minutes before we have to leave.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He ran back into his room, grabbing clothes before jumping into the shower. Within ten, he was ready to go.

“Ready to go!”

“Awesome!” May grabbed the keys. “Ben! We’re leaving!”

“Alright!” Ben poked his head out into the living room. “Stay safe, love you both.”

“Love you, too.”

“You have everything you need, right?”

“Yep!”

“Good on you.” Ben turned back towards his and May’s room. “I’ve got a shift later, so I’ll see you both tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright. Bye, Ben!”

*

He was supposed to start from Rosa’s house and patrol around there. Rosa’s experience in medical school would be useful in the first few days, when the team was very convinced he would get hurt the most.

Amy had put it as “No one is ever actually ready, not until they’ve been thrown into it. You’re going to get hurt, especially at first, and that’s what we’re here for.”

So he started outside Rosa’s apartment and ran around Brooklyn, looking for ways to help people out. The mask was hot and itchy, and it smelled kind of funny, but it was thrilling to wear. Rosa, having been there through some of his sensory episodes, had even included a thin pair of lenses into it (Amy may have done the actual making, but it was definitely Rosa that had picked out those dark lenses) to prevent it from happening in the middle of a fight. While training had helped him adjust to the influx of sensory information, he was going to need whatever he could get to help him out.

The most exciting thing he did that night was stop someone who was trying to snatch a purse, but he was fairly proud of that. For his first night, he had stopped a purse snatching, helped a kid find their puppy, and took bottles from teenagers that had forgotten the open container law.

When he walked back into Rosa’s at eleven, ready to go back with May, he felt arms around him within four seconds. “Oh my god, I’m not sure I can let you do this!” May’s hand was going through his hair, and he felt her grip getting tighter. “I was so worried!”

“May, I’m fine!” He returned her hug, albeit with a bit looser of a grip. “The most dangerous thing I did was help some lady get her purse back.”

Her arms only got tighter. “I’m always going to worry. You’re my kid, Peter. I can’t watch you get hurt.”

As she let go, Rosa pulled him to the couch, pushing him down and looking for any sign of injury. She nodded when she didn’t find anything before lightly tapping the side of his head with her palm. “You did good tonight. Come back to me tomorrow night.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Jake came into the room from Rosa’s kitchen, handing him a sandwich. “Wait, so Rosa, are you not moving out of this apartment now that a bunch of people from the team have been here?”

Holt, Jake, and Amy were all there, so Peter could understand the concern.

“No.” Rosa stood from her position in front of Peter. “He already knows this location. If he’s ever injured and delirious, he’s more likely to get here if it’s somewhere he knows. Instead, just know that if any of you give out my address, I'll kill you."

“Noted.” Jake turned towards Peter, waving finger guns at him. “In other news, I’d say our spider man’s first day being a superhero was pretty good!”

“Hey!” Peter brightened up, shoving another bite of his sandwich into his mouth. “I like that! Spider-Man!”

Jake’s arms spread. “Looks like we found your superhero name!”

Peter nodded, laughing. “I like it.”

May shook her head. “Well, Spider-Boy, you have to get to bed, meaning we have to head home. Go get changed.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

*

The next few weeks brought Peter into a spiral of focus. He was dedicating all of himself to schoolwork, to work, and to his activities as Spider-Man. And while it meant he was doing pretty well on all three fronts (though Spider-Man was becoming harder as time went on and he started going after bigger fish. May kept worrying about him, even after seeing him sleep off some pretty serious looking stuff), it also meant he was wearing himself out.

So, when Ned offered to have him over after school on his only afternoon that week where he wasn’t going to work in the precinct, he jumped at the opportunity. Legos and movies were ideal ways, in his book, to get some normalcy back in his life.

“Dude, you okay?” Ned tapped his shoulder as they walked toward his apartment. “You look dead on your feet.”

“I _am_ dead on my feet.”

“You said you had a part-time job, right?” Ned shrugged. “Do you think May and Ben would mind if you dropped it?”

“It’s not the job that’s the problem.” Ned’s apartment was only a few more blocks away. He could do that, a few more blocks.

“What is then?”

Peter shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, man. Let’s just hang out.”

Ned nodded, but was obviously still concerned. “Alright. You can talk to me, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, of course!” Peter’s head shook in disbelief. “I just want to hang out. Things have been a bit hectic with everything going on, and I just want to get them a bit more normal, ya know?”

Ned nodded, grabbing Peter’s shoulder and pulling him closer. “Alright. Normal it is, then.”

That afternoon was probably one of the most relaxing ones Peter had in a while.

*

Of course, his day couldn’t end quite as nicely. Patrol was still a daily thing, but that evening saw the creation of a new rule: Serious injuries were cause for several days of having the suit confiscated, so as to give him time to heal.

He had been closest to Rosa's apartment at the time, but she had called Jake to give him a ride after patching him up.

It was his first experience with more serious injuries – a stab wound in his side and a deep laceration across one arm – but he wasn’t a fan.

“You’re going to get a lot worse if you keep up with this superhero thing.” Rosa met his eyes. “You aren’t well-known yet. You can back out, if you want to.”

Rosa wasn’t a quitter. Jake wasn’t a quitter. Holt, May, Ben, Kevin, Terry, Amy, Gina. None of them were quitters. Being one himself wasn’t an option. So he dealt with the pain of having his wounds cleaned and stitched, he listened as Rosa explained how to do it (“In case you’re alone and need to.”), took the small emergency medical kit she had put together, and dealt with the pain of having several wounds.

Jake was quiet the entire way back to May and Ben’s.

“You know, I didn’t like seeing you when that Flash kid first started up with his nonsense, but that doesn’t even begin to cover how horrible I feel seeing you hurt.”

“Sorry, Jake.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Peter.” Jake shook his head. The car was off, and the apartment was right there. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You were looking out for the little guy, and some douche decided to stab you.”

“I’ll be fine by tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the day after that. You’ll see.”

Jake shook his head before he opened his door. “Come on. We’re having a sleepover.”

Peter liked the sound of that. He liked the sound of that a lot.

*

May kept her composure at seeing her baby hurt until the moment he was in his room, changing. Then, she cornered Jake and demanded answers. Ben was on shift, but she would be damned if she waited until morning.

“How did this happen?”

“He didn’t give us all the details, but he tried to stop a mugging and underestimated how willing the other guy was to use his weapon.”

“He shouldn’t be doing this. Oh, god, he shouldn’t be doing this.”

“May, he has us. He has you and Ben, and he has the Nine-Nine.” Jake knew it was empty. He knew how helpless she felt – it was how he had felt watching him get stitched up. The only thing he could do was minimize his freak-out as much as possible and comfort Peter.

“You’re my boys!” She shook her head. “It’s bad enough that you’re a cop, and the only thing keeping me sane at this point is that at least you’re a detective, so you’re not on the streets every day. But he’s a teenager, and he’s fighting crime. He’s like… like…”

“He’s like a beat cop.” Jake nodded. “I know. Some of the scariest times through my career were my times as a beat cop.”

May nodded. She stood a moment, hand on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, tapping her foot. “I can’t stop worrying about him as is, but now he’s gone and gotten stabbed…”

“He’ll sleep most of the injury off, and I’m staying the night to make sure he’s okay.” Jake shifted where he leant against the counter. “He’s going to be fine.”

“This time.”

“If I have any say, he’s going to be fine _every_ time.”

May’s face softened, and she walked over to Jake, pulling his head down and kissing him on the forehead. “You’re a good brother, Jake. Thank you for watching out for him.”

“It’s always been a pleasure to do so.” Jake smirked before doing a mock bow, complete with a waving hand. “Now, I have a kid to heckle into sleeping. Good night, m’lady.”

As he disappeared around the corner and into Peter’s room, May let herself fall into her chair. Those were her boys. Her sons. Her family. Just because they weren’t all entirely blood related, that didn’t change a damn thing. And now both of her sons put themselves on the line to protect other people. She was so incredibly proud of them, but she was equally tense.

“They’ll be okay. They’re here, tonight. They’ll be okay.” She whispered it to herself like a mantra, making herself believe it, even a little.

She was awake until Ben came home, only content to sleep when she had the last member of her family safe and under her roof. He didn’t ask questions, only pulled her close to him while she cried some of her worry out.

The next morning, he took the suit away, saying Peter was taking at least two days off to recover.

“I don’t care if you slept most of it off,” he ran a hand across Peter’s hair. “You’re not making things worse by over-exerting yourself on an injury. Suit, now.”

Peter hadn’t fought much on it, and it was mostly performative. He handed it over, and for two days Ben and May were able to breathe easy, their youngest coming home each evening after his job, sitting with them through dinner, and then doing his homework while they watched a movie. Two days of contentment and safety.

May made sure to cherish that time, because the second he was allowed, Peter would be back on the streets, fighting crime like the people he looked up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Peter was really upset in Homecoming when his suit was taken away, but I think that had to do with it feeling permanent. Ben and May taking the suit here is to make sure he gives himself time to fully heal, and he recognizes that, which is why, while he kinda fights it, he gives in. Because he knows it's coming from a place of love and care, and that they'll let him have it back once they're more confident he won't make his injuries worse.


	9. Life Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's life takes a turn when Jake and Rosa are sent to prison. 
> 
> Happy finds out more about the kid that saved him in Brooklyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I opted to have the Jake and Rosa going to prison plot in this, because it sets up some future stuff. I'm not going to go too much into what happens while they're there because  
> 1\. Mostly, it's the canon.   
> 2\. Spoilers for people like me that are slow at catching up on season 5. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, liking, and commenting! Come scream at me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Weeks of crime-fighting interspersed with bits of time left for healing, and Peter had learned a couple things about his powers.

One, he healed a lot faster if he ate and then slept. As such, he was coming home closer to eleven instead of midnight, if only for May and Ben’s sanity. And while “home” was relative, and had meant just a text to May or Ben saying who he was staying with, Jake and Amy or Rosa, it always meant something quick and easy to eat, a comfortable bed to crash on. Jake and Amy had turned the guest room into a space for him, and Rosa’s own spare office had a futon in it, and access to a faster computer than the one he had built.

But watching the footage on the news, the finding of Jake and Rosa as guilty…

He couldn’t stand the idea. Two of the best people in New York were going to prison for something he knows they didn’t do…

So now, home meant Rosa’s empty apartment, stocked with medical supplies and instructions, in case he had forgotten all the times she made him treat his own injuries to make sure he knew how to do it. Home meant sitting after patrol with Amy, the two of them listening to some of Jake’s favorite songs, or watching movies, or suffering together the fact that someone they loved was wrongfully imprisoned. Home meant going home to May and Ben and his room, where the guitar Jake had gotten him sat untouched for the last several weeks, the Iron Man strap picking up as much dust as the instrument itself.

He started working more, trying to help out with Jake and Rosa’s case. He started patrolling more.

He started getting hurt more.

But it was worth it. The people he helped, they were always worth it. The night he had managed to protect Ben, to keep someone else from being taken away? Worth the bullet in his side and May’s worry when he had gotten home and treated it himself.

_“I have an enhanced system. If I go to a hospital, they’ll experiment on me. If I treat myself, I can wait out the injury.”_

Rosa had found a simple system for him to deal with bullet wounds. The ones that stuck, he dug out with a small pair of foreceps before plugging the hole with a tampon for an hour or two. When he was safe, he stitched it up.

The first time he had been shot, he had been a mess. He had immediately texted Rosa to meet him at Jake’s, because the one person he needed was Jake, who would crack a few jokes and share his panic, but would ultimately sit at his side and hold him while he dealt with it.

It still hurt to get shot. A lot. But each time it happened, the easier it was to push the burning and aching pain aside and focus on getting to safety.

And now, after everything, and after weeks of running himself ragged to the point where Ned was considering dragging him to his house and forcing him to sit down so he could watch him eat a full meal and get a full night’s sleep, he was more than happy to come home and collapse into a nap for an hour or two before doing his homework. With the injuries from the night before, May and Ben had confiscated the suit anyway, and Holt had told him that he was to take the rest of the week off, per his agreement with May and Ben to help make sure Peter took care of himself. Catching some more sleep counted as part of that, right?

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans, and he was crossing paths with someone that clearly remembered him.

“You’re the kid!”

“What?”

The man was bulky, someone he wouldn’t have dreamed about fighting a few months ago, but that now he could pinpoint a couple of weak points on without giving it much thought.

“You saved my ass about four months ago.” The man pointed to the phone in Peter’s hand. “I owe you one. Give me that.”

“Really man, it’s fine.”

The man shook his head. “You don’t get it. If something had gone wrong with that errand, it could have ended a pretty serious project my boss is working on. Now hand over the phone, and if you ever need it, you can call me for a favor.” He looked at Peter and held up a finger, suddenly seeming to want to assert some sort of lack of care. “One.”

Peter handed the phone to him, pulling it out and typing out a quick message to him.

“I sent you my name, so if I ever have to take you up on it you know, alright?”

The man checked his own device, nodding when he saw it. “Now, one question: Who taught you to fight like that?”

*

Happy was overjoyed to find the kid. He and Natasha, intrigued, had agreed to use spare time to see if they could track him down. They both had some questions for him, and now he had found the kid on pure chance walking through Queens.

“A family friend taught me.” The kid was smiling, but it was the same sad smile Tony got when reconciling that something was out of his control, that he couldn’t stop it and can’t stop it now.

“Well I’ve got some questions about this friend and I’m hungry. You know any good places around here?”

The kid nodded, leading him down a street. His bag looked like it weighed a million pounds, with how stuffed it was. The kid walked with his back straight, though, and his eyes were constantly roaming the crowd. He had carried on a conversation flawlessly, but he had headphones dug into his ears. Definitely, though Happy was loath to admit it, an interesting kid.

“There’s a sandwich shop down this way, Delmar’s. There’s also a diner further down the street, if that’s more your speed.”

“Sandwiches sound good.”

The kid laughed at that. “Delmar’s are probably the best in Queens. There’s a deli down in Brooklyn, near the Nine-Nine, that’s got a killer Rueben, and then there’s a kosher market down past Oxford Park with some good food.”

Happy nodded. The kid’s voice was a dead giveaway for a Queens native, but he had to spend a lot of time in Brooklyn to have crossed paths with him there, been so comfortable there, and to know it so well.

The kid gestured to a street he was getting ready to turn down. It was a two finger gesture, the kind that Happy had seen some of the Avengers with military or law enforcement experience use. He glanced back down at his phone.

“So, your name’s Peter?”

“Yeah. Your…” he opened his own phone. “Happy? Nice name, man.”

Happy rolled his eyes. “Whatever, kid.”

“You had questions?”

Happy nodded, glad to be back on topic. “Those were some pretty serious skills. What’s a kid like you need that for?”

Peter shifted as they entered the sandwich shop. The upright and confident kid from a moment ago seemed shielded, even if without realizing it, behind something meeker. “Hey, Mr. Delmar!”

“Your usual?”

The kid nodded. “And squish it down real flat!”

The man laughed and nodded, taking Peter’s money before taking Happy’s order. Peter dodged the question, petting a cat, before gesturing for Happy to follow him outside. He led him towards an alley, leaning against the wall. “I have reasons for learning to fight, alright?”

“What are they?”

“Why do you care?” The kid was on guard again. The way he carried himself out on the street was like someone far older, someone trained. The way he acted in the sandwich shop just highlighted how young he was.

Happy shrugged. “I work in security. With those skills? I could almost consider you for a job.”

“I’ve already got part-time work down at…” Peter shook his head. “I’ve got a part-time gig already.”

“What are we doing in an alley?”

“I’m not walking you to my apartment, man.” Peter’s face scrunched up. “I’m not that dumb.”

Happy could respect that.

“Well, my work here is done, anyway.” He pointed at Peter’s phone. He had enough of cryptic teenagers for one day. “You ever need something, let me know.”

Peter opened his mouth, bit his lip, then spoke. “Where are you based?”

“What?”

Peter shrugged. “I wouldn’t wanna burden you, man. Where you from?”

“Manhattan.”

Peter nodded. Then, throwing his sandwich wrapper in a dumpster, he gestured down the alley. “I’m heading out. Nice meeting you, Happy.”

*

Tony noticed the wrapper in the trashcan almost immediately.

“Delmars?” He glanced at Happy. “Where’s that?”

“Some corner in Queens. Not that bad, actually.” He gestured at Tony. “You taking a break?”

He had been overworking himself trying to get the Accords on some kind of grounding, something that wasn’t flat out government control of any enhanced or otherwise powered individuals, so that he could present it to the team having something at least partially agreeable. Relaxing in his apartment with Happy or Pepper was a convenient way to destress from the unending negotiations, as well as his job with SI and his work with the Avengers, while allowing the problems he was dealing with to marinate in his brain a bit.

“Yeah.” He threw a couch pillow at Happy. “So, why were you in Queens?”

“Tracking down that part for you.” He threw the pillow towards the middle of the couch. “Ran into that kid again.”

“The scrawny one you told me about?”

“Yeah.”

Tony nodded as Downton Abbey played. “There’s something on your mind.”

Happy shook his head. “That kid, he acts like some of you guys. Always checking for an exit, an escape route. I swear, when he first saw me, he was taking stock of what points to hit first if I was hostile.”

“Think he could be enhanced?”

“I think there’s an oddly scrawny superhero running around Queens and Brooklyn.”

“That Spider-Kid?” Tony shook his head. “Nah. I doubt it. You said the kid looked what, twelve, right? Probably not the same person.”

Happy shook his head. “He mentioned the ‘Nine-Nine’, and there’s that one YouTube channel with video of Spider-Man that is ‘brooklyn99boys’. It might not be a coincidence.”

“You get a name?”

Happy tossed his phone at Tony. “Peter Parker.”

“FRIDAY, see what you can dig up, yeah?”

*

Peter crashed within moments of returning home. May was gone grocery shopping, and Ben was on shift again. He didn’t wake up until he felt a hand running through his hair. “Wake up, Bug-Boy.”

It had become Ben’s favorite nickname for Peter since he had started going out as Spider-Man. “Ugh… hurts.”

“I’m not surprised.” Ben sat next to him, continuing to run his hand through Peter’s hair. “You broke at least one rib, and I’m pretty sure you sprained a few joints.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I think it comes with the territory.”

Peter groaned, sitting up. “At least broken ribs only last me a few days.”

“You know, I think if they lasted longer it might just encourage you to stay safer.”

Peter laughed as he got up, following Ben out to the kitchen, where dinner was on the table. “Oh, man, this smells so good!”

“Glad you like it, kid.” Ben ruffled Peter’s hair as May came out into the dining room. She grabbed the side of his head, kissing his temple.

“Glad to see you’re doing okay, Peter.”

“Physically, anyway.”

May grabbed his hand. “With the Nine-Nine working on it, and you trying to help out as Spider-Man, Jake and Rosa will be out in no time.”

It was wishful thinking, but Peter was willing to cling onto that. At least for the night. And if he picked the guitar up for the first time since the two had gone to prison? May and Ben didn’t mention it, instead opting to enjoy Peter’s playing for the evening.


	10. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gina tries to help Peter adjust to life without Jake, and Tony meets May and Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We begin to move into Marvel canon a bit, though I have plans for a lot of it to go at least somewhat differently. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, liking, and commenting! 
> 
> Come scream at me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Gina had refrained from posting any videos to her YouTube channel – which was an approved PR stunt that was just videos of office shenanigans (some of which almost got them in trouble, and would have if it hadn’t been for their exemplary record) – since Jake and Rosa’s arrests.

Peter didn’t realize the random things flying at his head whenever he walked around were for a video compilation, though. If he had known, he would have at least turned around when he caught them. Instead, May and Ben were laughing at his struggle. A few classmates had seen it and thought it was cool, spreading it around the school. The two reactions spanned from asking him how he did it to throwing things at him themselves to test it. 

At this point, catching things coming at him without much consideration was habit and it led to more and more people trying it. It got old really quickly.

Naturally, he had confronted Gina about it moments after entering the precinct.

“You need to feel normal.” Her head was tilted back, and her hand was holding his own down. “I gave you that.”

“By making my classmates start throwing things at me?”

“I never said normal was enjoyable.” Gina shook her head, turning back to her phone. “Now sit, peon. You have work to do.”

“Yes, oh righteous lady.”

It was a bit they hadn’t done in a while. It felt weird without Jake there, without Rosa rolling her eyes at them.

But it also felt normal. Maybe she was right, and he needed some of his normal back.

*

Tony looked through FRIDAY’s profile of the Parker boy.

_Straight A’s, Midtown School for Science, Academic Decathalon team member, Part-time administrative assistant in Brooklyn 99 th Precinct._

The kid was a shining example of over-accomplishment and a put together life. Everything his dad had wished he was at that age, and probably more.

_Living Relatives:_

_Ben Parker: Uncle, 41, nurse at Queens Memorial Hospital (Pediatrics)_

_May Parker: Aunt, 37, nurse at Queens Memorial Hospital (Emergency)_

So, no parents. He could imagine how that felt. At least he had people that seemed to love him around him.

His school emergency form (and, really, the public schools should use better firewalls for this stuff) had his aunt, uncle, and a Jake Peralta listed. Jake Peralta led straight back to the Brooklyn 99th, so the kid was clearly embedded there, and Happy’s suspicions had some validity.

“FRIDAY, take the Spider-Man YouTube videos and cross-reference them with any available footage of Peter Parker, will you?”

“Yes, sir.”

He turned back to his work, surprised when there was a result within moments.

“The footage in this video would suggest enhanced reflexes, sir.” FRIDAY started playing a recent YouTube video on the screen, having queued up several. “And the following videos offer a comparison of Parker and Spider-Man’s movements. Based on movement style, height, and build, I would say there is a ninety percent certainty the two are a shared identity.”

Well, that was a lot easier than he had thought. And New York’s newest superhero was a teenager running around in a hoodie and jeans. That was…

He’d get to that later. First, he had to make sure the kid didn’t _die_.

*

Terry walked up to Peter as his shift ended. “I’m taking over training you on weekends.” He didn’t seem comfortable with the idea.

“Really? That’ll be awesome!”

“You’ll let me know if I hit you too hard, right?”

“You can’t hit harder than that truck from two weeks ago, Uncle Terry. I promise you.”

The way his eyes bugged out was hilarious, and Peter was really glad his phone was out, because Gina would appreciate the picture. “The what now?”

“Let’s forget I said anything.”

Terry nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Now when are you coming by again? Sharon’s been wanting to see you, and the girls miss you.”

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. With patrolling, work, and all my school stuff I’ve been really busy. What’s next weekend looking like for you guys, though?”

“Cagney and Lacey have a soccer game on Saturday, and Sunday we’re busy.”

“Oh really, can I go to the game?”

Terry nodded. “Yeah.” He started smiling. “Yeah, that would be perfect. Stay with me Friday night, since we would be out the door early Saturday morning, yeah?”

Peter smiled, turning towards the elevator “See ya then, Sarge!”

Terry nodded before turning back to his work. Peter was a good kid, and he was glad Cagney and Lacey had him to look up to as they got older. Hopefully, he would be a saner version for them of what Jake had been for him.

*

May and Ben were enjoying their day off, their day where Peter was at school, then work, then patrol and they were able to be alone. Even if they were worrying about their kid, they had a day that was to themselves. The knock at the door, though, made for an interesting break in their day.

“Hello, I’m Tony Stark.”

May nodded. “I know. Come in.”

The man walked in with an air confidence, but there was something to the curve of his shoulder that suggested a degree of shyness, as though he were faking the confidence.

“You’re the aunt and uncle of Peter Parker?”

Ben nodded from his seat on the couch, waving his newest property in Monopoly at May with an off-handed “You’re going down.”

“Ah, Monopoly.” Tony nodded at the game. “That’s not why I’m here, though.”

“So we gathered.” May brushed past him and gestured to the chair by the couch. “Tea?”

“Yes, please.” Tony walked towards the chair, holding his hand out to Ben as he sat and May went to make tea for the three of them.

“So, Mr. Stark, why are you here?” Ben met Tony’s eyes as May came in.

“The water will be done in a few minutes.”

Tony smiled at her before answering. “Don’t call me Mr. Stark. That was my dad. Please, just Tony.

“And, I’m here about Peter. About his internship application?”

May and Ben shared a look. “He didn’t apply for an internship with Stark Industries. He would have told us if he had.”

May nodded. “So, you’re here about something else.”

 It was clear they knew something about Spider-Man. Tony braced himself. “You know about him being Spider-Man, then.”

May and Ben nodded. It was May that spoke. “We may not like it, but he shares with us when he’s injured, and he’s been responsive to the ground rules we set at the beginning, so we’re letting him continue with it.”

“Ground rules?”

“A curfew, time off when he’s injured, where to go if it’s bad and he’s not close to home, that kind of thing.”

Tony nodded. “Well, I was hoping he would be receptive to the idea of getting some more formal training, of doing more formal work.”

“You mean with the Avengers?” Ben seemed a bit taken aback by the idea.

“Well, eventually, yes.” Tony leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees. “What he’s doing now, the small stuff? That’s good for him to start on. But those of us that are currently in the initiative can’t keep doing it forever, we have to begin thinking about the next generation.

“Your nephew has powers that could allow him to do a lot of good. I think it would be smart for him to start thinking ahead about how he’s going to use those powers.”

Ben straightened. “He’s not just going to be a superhero his whole life. We’ve made it clear to him that college is a non-negotiable part of us supporting him.”

“Absolutely. And the Avengers Initiative would be happy to fund it, wherever he chooses to go.”

It was nice to be transparent with them. Instead of having to dance around what he knew about their kid, he could be upfront, and it meant he could start planning other aspects of Peter’s potential future with the Avengers sooner.

The door sped open, and a teenager rushed through, not even looking into the living room as he ran to his room with a shout.

“I’m gonna stay with Terry on Friday! Cagney and Lacey have a soccer game and I said I’d go.”

“Alright, Peter.” May called to him. “Come out here, real quick. We have a guest for you to meet before you go patrolling.” She turned to Tony. “I’m assuming you’d like to meet him before you recruit him, yes?”

Tony nodded, standing. “If it’s alright, may I speak with him in private?”

May and Ben nodded. It was Ben that walked him back to Peter’s room. “Hey, Bug-Boy. Our guest wants to talk to you a minute. You can go patrolling when you’re done, alright?”

Peter nodded, not looking up from the notebook he had open on his desk. The kid wasn’t even sitting down, just leaning over it, a red pen in his mouth, a hand on the page, and one pen scrawling across the page.

“Peter.” Ben sighed. “Peter!”

Peter broke out of his captivation with the notebook, only to get slightly stiff and for his mouth to drop open a bit when he saw Tony behind Ben.

“Our guest wants to talk to you.”

 


	11. Cashing in Favors Ahead of Schedule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mere two weeks after meeting him, Peter is about to see Tony Stark again, this time as a direct result of his activities as Spider-Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of pain today for our favorite boy! And we finally have Tony and Peter interactions!

Peter floundered a bit, but Tony guessed that was understandable.

“Aren’t you supposed to be busy with some kind of law or something?”

That was not the greeting Tony was expecting.

“Yes,” Tony gestured to him. “It’s a law that would affect you, given you have and use your own powers.”

“Yeah, I know.” Peter pulled out the chair, gesturing for Tony to take it while Peter moved towards the bed. “Holt’s been making me track the story, and Ben wants to start working through the law together once it's released to the public. They said I should know what’s going to happen, just in case local people get caught up in them.”

“Well, those are a long way off from being finished, but I have some questions for you.” Tony glanced at the open notebook, seeing the header _WEB FLUID: DESIGN 2.2_ followed by a string of notes. He derailed the conversation for a moment.

“You designed this yourself?”

Peter shrugged. “It’s only the second version. I’ve got it good for a restraint, and the last version could kind of handle weight, but I figured if I tried harder to mimic spider silk instead of focusing purely on the chemical aspect I might be able to make it a lot stronger. Then I could use it for transportation, too.”

“This is good stuff, kid.” Peter preened a bit at the praise, and Tony couldn’t help but feel a little warm at that. His intel had been spot-on. This was a good kid.

“So, you got into superhero-ing to what… help the little guy?”

Peter nodded. He gave Tony a line about power and responsibility, something Tony had used a hundred times, and then he’d pulled his bag towards him, pulling out the hoodie and mask he’d been using for patrols and a stack of school books. The kid had meant it, about power and responsibility. He had been genuine, concerned.

Tony had always been quick to make decisions and judgements about people, and sometimes it burned him, but he got a good feeling about the kid.

“Well, you’re busy this weekend, but give me your phone.” The kid complied, unlocking it when prompted.

Tony typed out his information. “I got your number from Happy. Now, if you’re serious about this stuff, I’d like to give you a trial run, training under the Avengers while you keep working your way up on your usual beat. This summer, maybe, when you don’t have school.”

Peter seemed struck by that, but he nodded, and his foot started bouncing. The energy on the kid was a bit infectious; Tony already wanted to start hitting the lab to finish up some of the projects he had to work on.

Something lit up in the kid’s eye. “Wait, Happy? The stocky guy, works security or something like that?”

Tony nodded. “He’s my head of security, and he was impressed by what you did when you guys first met. Now, if everything works out you’ll be training a lot more than whatever it was you were doing then, but still. Not bad for a fourteen-year-old.”

“Happy was pretty cool.” Peter blushed a bit at the compliment, but he seemed to have developed a handle on his emotions, something Tony found odd given his age. He glanced around the room, seeing the guitar in the corner.

“Well, I’ve got to go in a minute. I’ll talk to your aunt and uncle again, if you want to do the trial run.”

“Yes, sir. I would love to!” Peter shot up as Tony stood. “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t thank me yet, kid.” He gestured to the suit sitting on the bed, changing the topic. “How have you not died in that thing? You know what? I don’t think I want to know. We’ll talk about that when you start with us. Now, I have some stuff to hammer out with your aunt and uncle, and it looks like you have homework.”

Peter nodded. “It was really awesome meeting you, sir. Really, an honor.”

“Pleasure to meet you, as well, Mister Parker.” Tony extended his hand. The kid may have been giddy, but Tony could feel the kid trying to force a lighter grip. Based on how firm the handshake had been, he had to wonder how strong the kid actually was. “And make a general list of the things you’ve already been trained on. Happy says that kind of knowledge doesn’t just come from the streets, and I’m inclined to believe him.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh!” Tony turned around, knowing what he was about to do was a little mean, but would be hilarious nonetheless. He pointed at the guitar. “Nice guitar strap, by the way.”

Peter glanced at it, processing the Iron Man pattern on it before blushing and stuttering out a ‘thank you’. Peter walked with him out to the living room, waving at him and his relatives before heading back to his room to work on homework.

Tony opened his arms towards May and Ben. “So, where should we start?”

*

Peter did end up texting Mr. Stark the end date for school two days later, but he completely forgot about it in the shitstorm of paperwork that hit the precinct the next day after a major bust, followed up by finals and patrolling injuries. 

Giving oneself stitches was a lot harder than Hollywood made it look, and the ones he had given himself were way too tight, and pulled at the skin, making gym really annoying.

“Dude, you okay?” Ned tapped Peter’s shoulder. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I’m fine, promise.” Peter smiled. “I’ll be fine, anyway.”

“Alright.” Ned looked around. “How are you holding up since Jake?”

“He’s going to get exonerated. He’s got to.”

“Peter… he was found guilty.”

“And he didn’t do it!”

“There’s footage.”

“I know you don’t like Jake, but trust me on this. He didn’t do it.”

Ned shook his head. “Whatever, man. Whatever you need to believe, just…” Ned was shifting a bit, looking away from Peter. “Just don’t hurt yourself trying to cope, okay?”

Peter shook his head. “Yeah, whatever, Ned.”

*

The two of them didn’t fight often, but when they did, it didn’t take long for May and Ben to catch on. Which is why Peter was not surprised in the least when May invited Ned over for dinner.

“You’re sorting this out with him.”

“I was going to patrol tonight.”

“Patrol after dinner.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

*

Dinner was quiet, tense. It wasn’t until Ben got involved that the boys started talking out their issues.

“Why don’t you like Jake?” Peter had long been a little sick of Ned speaking against Jake, but he had put up with it, because Ned was entitled to his opinion. “Jake’s great!”

“Jake is so cocky, though! And he’s always acting like he’s got all the answers!”

“That’s his gag! Everyone that knows him knows he’s just putting on an act.” Peter leaned forward, his elbows on top of the table. “I get it if you don’t like him, but why don’t you trust me that he didn’t do this?”

Ned sighed. “Peter, the evidence was all there.”

Peter gave Ned a look. “You think Jake Peralta, the dude that got a starter apartment at 33 and eats cereal with orange soda, is capable of running a life as a dirty cop and opening a bank account in the Cayman Islands?”

Ned shrugged in on himself. “When you put it that way, it does sound ridiculous. What about Rosa, though?”

“If Rosa has committed or is planning to commit a crime, it’s either murder or felony tax evasion, and, either way, she’s not getting caught. You’ve met her, you know that.”

“True enough. She’s pretty ‘all or nothing’.”

Peter nodded, finishing off his food. “Wanna build legos?”

“Sure.”

May watched them run back to Peter’s room. She walked over to Ben, pulling him into a hug before kissing his cheek. “Thank you.”

Things weren’t perfect between the boys – when was anything ever perfect for teenagers? – but they were looking up. And that was all May could ask for.

*

That night's patrol went fine, for the most part. The next several did as well. Two weeks later, and he had the longest streak of patrols where he hadn't been badly injured. It wasn’t until the end of one, when he had stumbled across an assault and tried to stop it, that things had gone awry. The man he stopped had a knife at a woman’s throat, and didn’t take well to someone pulling him off of his prey. He had started lashing the knife at Peter, clipping his arm, part of his shoulder, his side, and (lightly) the side of his neck.

He didn’t have time to get to anyone. He was too far away. He could make it to Rosa’s apartment – She had left the keys with Holt, but he knew where she had hidden a spare for him. It was under a potted plant in western corner of the third floor hallway in the building across the street and to the right. She had promised him that it would stay there while she was away, allowing him to hide-out there if he needed to.

He scrambled to the key, then to the apartment. He had a lot to worry about, and he was still bleeding. A lot.

He managed to stitch two of his wounds before he realized he might need help.

_To: Happy Hogan_

_Any chance I can cash in that favor and have you meet me in Brooklyn?_

He kept stitching while he waited for a response, fighting the urge to pass out with everything in him. He had gotten two more stitched up, albeit kind of sloppily, before he decided to text Happy the address, just in case. The last message was more of an afterthought than anything.

              _I hope you know how to stitch up bloody cuts and shit bc I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be conscious._

He managed one text to his group chat with May and Ben telling them where he was and that he had gotten help before he started getting too woozy and lightheaded to see.

*

As Happy got ready to walk out the door, he took a moment to stop in on Tony.

“Please, Boss. He’s a good kid, but please don’t put me in charge of him.” He threw Tony his phone. “The stress might just kill me.”

Tony took one look at it before grabbing a medical kit. “Bring him back here when you’re done, yeah? Maybe we can get someone to look at him.”

“Give him the damn suit, please!” Happy made for the door, twisting around Rhodey as he entered to work in the lab with Tony. “Maybe then he’ll live past twenty!”


	12. Cuts Deep, Heals Quick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony deals with the aftermath of an injured spider child, and Clint makes a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of how Peter gets brought into the fold, he meets everyone a bit differently. I also really like the idea of him and Clint getting along, if only because Clint is like "Hey, you're around Cooper's age" and takes him under his wing. 
> 
> I wasn't kidding in the tags, man. Peter has a lot of parents/parental figures/older familial/mentor relationships. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting!! Feel free to fuel the machine with comments, lol!
> 
> Scream at me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Happy walked into the apartment to a teenager that was far less guarded than the one he had met before.

“I can’t see very well.” Peter hadn’t stopped _talking_ since Happy had shown up. “And it’s so quiet. I forgot how quiet things were before.”

“Before?”

“Everything.” Peter giggled a bit. “Have you ever done something really stupid?”

Happy adamantly denied it, but he knew the second it got to Tony that Peter had asked there would be a series of stories from Happy’s early days in security where Tony had roped him into some frankly ridiculous shenanigans. And, given Rhodey was staying in the Tower for a few weeks while he had some leave, there were likely to be even more stories that were geared more towards James’ and Tony’s college excursions.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I wish I could say that.”

Happy could feel the stress ulcer that was due in his future. “What’d you do, kid?”

“I’ve been looking into the chick that got Jake and Rosa locked up.” The kid was so painfully, painfully honest when he was delirious from blood loss. He had avoided mentioning Peralta or Diaz, both of whom were in Tony’s file on him, with their own subsections, in any conversations with him and Tony, even when they were relevant to what he was saying. Now, his tongue was a lot looser. Now his walls and his entertaining, but slightly detached persona were gone in favor of a bouncy and bubbly (if loopy) one. “She’s bad. Like, really bad.

“I saw her talking to this guy, though. He’s got this weird wing thing going for him.”

“Falcon?”

 “Like, cheap, villain-y knock-off Falcon.” Peter shrugged. His eyes started to droop, prompting Happy to ask more questions, hoping to keep him awake. “Like, ‘I built this out of PVC Pipe and it works, but it’s probably going to blow up in my face’ kinda knock-off, not Pinterest mom knock-off.”

“Really now?”

“Yeah. And his didn’t really have any color on it like Falcon’s. And his face was completely covered.”

Happy nodded, pulling out some stitches the kid had done himself, most of which were way off from where they should have been, like he had been trying to do it through double vision. The kid hissed a bit when they were pulled a bit too tightly, but Happy hoped that would at least keep him awake. “What did you mean it was quiet, kid?”

“I mean hearing things, it’s like normal. When I got bit, it sucked because everything was so _loud_. Smells, sight. Everything. It hurt so bad! I thought my head was gonna explode!” Peter’s head was back, giving Happy access to the wound on his neck, which was one he had completely missed the mark on, the stitches going into the skin far from where the actual wound was and doing almost nothing to hold it together. Neck wounds were probably the most nerve-wracking kind, though, so Happy tried to listen while he fixed the stitches with shaking hands. The kid flinched a bit when the needle went in, but didn’t seem to mind it too much, which was adding to his concern. “But then I got used to it, and now that I’m losing more blood than usual, everything’s like, quiet. I can only hear this apartment, and, like, a couple of the really loud cars outside. It’s so weird!”

Alright then. Something to add to the file: Enhanced senses, and a disturbingly high threshold for ‘unusual amount of blood loss’.

“What do you normally do when you’re this badly injured, kid?” Happy helped the kid to his feet, guiding him towards the stairs, and then the car. He slipped him into the passenger seat so he could keep a closer eye on whether he was drifting or not.

“Get someone to help me. Last time, it was Santiago, but she didn’t like that.” Peter shrugged. “Something about getting hit by a truck made her worried. But it was gonna hurt people. The guy died at the wheel or something, I forget.”

Happy remembered the story. Some truck driver had a heart attack at the wheel, and Spider-Man had stopped the truck.

“I don’t know why she was so worried, though. The bleeding was internal, ya know? That’s where the blood is supposed to be.”

Happy shook his head. People who coped with potentially life-threatening problems through macabre humor were becoming way to common in his life. “Oh, you and the boss are gonna get along way too well.”

Peter giggled a bit at that, his head lolling to the side. “I’m trynna stay awake, I swear. I know it’s important and all.”

“Thanks, kid. You’re making my job easier.”

Peter nodded. “Awesome.”

“So what all did you dig up on that chick that got Peralta and Diaz locked up?”

“Lieutenant Hawkins?” Peter shrugged. “I have it written down, but I kinda need to find a way to get closer to the operation. Maybe hide some listening equipment in my shoes or something.” The kid’s eyes started squinting as he rubbed at his face. “Agh, it’s getting harder to stay awake.”

“Just try, okay? We’re twenty minutes out from the tower if I break about ten traffic laws.”

“I work with cops. I shouldn’t condone that.”

“Well, you also got the shit beat out of you.” Happy gestured at him. “You’re probably staying the night, given the damage.”

Peter shot up in his seat, swaying a moment before he spoke. “I was supposed to go to another one of Cagney and Lacey’s soccer games!”

“Tell whoever they are that you can’t make it then.” Happy shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere like that. Now, tell me more about Hawkins. Try to give me details.”

Peter nodded. Blood loss had done a number on him, but he was holding it together. Happy didn’t want to know what experiences had provided that skill, but it meant Happy could keep a better eye on Peter’s status, so he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“I’m not sure if she’s actually the top of the pyramid. She’s got like, three criminal organizations that she’s connected to, though. They’re all linked through her, but I’m pretty sure two of them have some kinda… what’s it called?” The kid rubbed his eyes again, leaning towards one side. Not a good sign. Happy pushed him lightly to wake him up a bit.

“Stay with me kid. And the word I think you’re looking for is ‘rivalry’.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah. But it looks like some of it’s for show, ya know?”

The kid’s Queens accent was getting a lot thicker as he started drifting off. His voice was getting a lot thicker, too, and he was starting to slur his words. Happy resisted the urge to tighten his hands anymore around the steering wheel.

“You’ve been doing good, kid.” Happy tapped him again. “Stay with me.”

“So tired…” Peter shook his head. “God, who needs drugs when you’ve got blood loss?”

Happy felt himself laughing before he really processed what was said. By the time he did, he was laughing harder. “God, kid. I dare you to say that in front of the boss. You might actually give him an aneurysm.”

“Isn’t that bad? I feel like an aneurysm is really bad.” Peter shook his head. “I can’t science like this. Ugh.” The kid fumbled for his phone. “Have you ever listened to ‘I Want It That Way’?”

“Kid, if you put that song on, I might just have to kill you myself. I hated it when it came out, and I hate it now.”

He kept babbling, but as long as he was speaking, Happy wasn’t going to complain. It meant he was still conscious, which meant he wasn’t dead. Happy did not want to make that house call. Peter was just starting to lose the battle when they pulled into the tower. By the time Happy got him to the medical wing, he was completely unconscious, and Happy’s blood pressure began to skyrocket.

“We’ve got him, Hap.” Tony put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We’ll take good care of him.”

Happy nodded. “He opened up in the car. Kid’s been giving himself stitches, too. Tough as nails.”

Tony nodded. “Let’s make sure we can protect him some, then. Maybe then he won’t have to be.”

*

Waking up in a hospital-type space freaked Peter out enough that his first instinct was to rip out the IV. Unfortunately, an older, blonde man beat his hand to it and held him back.

“Yeah, you tried that when you started waking up a couple hours ago. You need the fluids, kid.”

Peter shook his head, putting the free hand to the cut on his neck, then moving towards the one on his shoulder, satisfied with the progress he could feel.  “Give it like, ten more hours and I can rip the stitches out.”

The man nodded, a smirk forming on his face. “Alright, then.” He took the IV out for Peter, probably a lot more carefully than Peter would have done. May and Ben would kill him if they knew how cavalier he was about healing. The man threw some sweatpants and a shirt at him that read ‘Good Morning, I See the Assassins Failed’. He typed something into his phone before addressing him again. “Get dressed, then you’re coming with me for some food. Here’s your phone, by the way. Some guy named Terry is trying to get a hold of you.”

Peter nodded. “I’m Peter, by the way.”

“So Stark said.” The man extended a hand. “Clint.”

“Nice to meet you.” The name seemed familiar, but Peter’s body was still physically exhausted from healing and fighting, and it was still impeding his cognitive ability.

Clint gestured for Peter to follow him while he texted Terry.

_I’m safe. I promise. I got hurt last night and had to get help. Just woke up. Sorry for missing the game!! I wish I had been there!_

The response was mostly concerned, though Terry slipped in a comment about Cagney and Lacey missing him and their team winning the game. Peter threw another quick text to May and Ben while he walked. Meanwhile, Clint pushed him into a seat at a large island in the kitchen. “I’m making you food. Anything else you usually do when you’re injured?”

Peter shook his head, flicking a piece of hair back. “Mostly just go light on my body until I’m healed.”

“So, you do have some smarts about you.” Clint pointed at the very obvious wound on his neck. “You jacked up your stitching on that one. Happy said it was the worst of the three he had to take out and re-do, and that it looked like you were doing it by feel alone. That’s one thing we’re working on, treating the wounds you can’t actually look at. I’m also training you to evade knives instead of taking them to your damn neck of all places.”

“I’ve worked on that with…”

“With?”

“A friend.”

Clint laughed. “Must be some friend. Here.” There were two slices of toast put in front of him while Clint worked on eggs. “To get you started.”

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem, Spider-Kid.”

Peter choked. “You know?”

Clint gestured to a board behind Peter. The board had photos of the Avengers on one side with notes underneath about weapons. On the other side were notes under a heading of _NEXT GEN_         , and Peter’s face was the only one underneath that heading. “You’re on the board now, kid. Stark’s excited about you, too.”

“Really?”

Clint nodded. “Now, on to something lighter.” He threw a notebook at Peter. “Nat and I put that together. That’s your workout routine for the next three weeks. As soon as you’re healed enough to start doing it, you better do it. Got it?”

Peter nodded, glad when Clint put food in front of him. As he ate, he could feel his sense coming back to him. That was when it clicked.

“Holy shit, you’re Clint Barton.”

“Nice of you to notice.” Clint poured himself some coffee. “Want some?”

“May and Ben won’t let me drink it ‘til I’m sixteen, and Terry said if he catches me with it before college he’ll consider me a bad influence and won’t let me near Cagney and Lacey.”

Clint laughed at that. “Damn. That’s a rough road. Coffee is the best drug around.” He shrugged as he put more food on Peter’s plate. As long as the kid was eating something, he would keep feeding him. After those kinds of injuries, he would need it. “I guess it makes sense, though. How old are you, anyway? Stark won’t tell us.”

“Fourteen. I turn fifteen in two weeks, though.”

“Jesus.” Clint shook his head. “You’re practically a baby! What are you doing running around New York for?”

“I’m not a baby! I’m almost fifteen!”

“Face it, Underoos.” There was a hand on his shoulder that he really should have felt coming, but blood loss had always messed with his Spider Senses, especially the day right after. It was removed when he jumped a bit in his chair, and Tony Stark took the stool next to him. And _that_ felt weird, sitting next to Tony Stark. “You’re practically a baby compared to us.”

Clint snickered at that, “Yeah, just a kid.” He pointed at Tony, “We’re keeping him.” He turned back to Peter. "If I didn’t know you were running around in a hoodie I would be takin’ Stark’s head off right about now for wanting to bring you in. I’ve got one about two years younger than you, and if he ever told me he wanted to be an Avenger or a superhero I would lock him in the basement until he was thirty.”

Peter jumped again when his ears caught someone walking behind him. Tony’s eyes focused in on him a moment. “You weren’t this jumpy the last time we met. Something wrong?”

Peter shook his head. “Nah, I just gotta focus on getting my senses back on track. Not the first time they’ve gone haywire.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Peter shrugged. “It’s uh… Normally I can, you know, like, dial two or three of them back by forcing myself not to focus on them, and then the ones I can’t pull back are more manageable, but everything’s coming at me full force.”

Tony and Clint made faces, but it was Clint that spoke. “That sounds like a migraine waiting to happen.”

Peter shrugged. “It made me vomit a lot when they first developed, but I haven’t since.”

Peter didn’t feel like talking about how his senses would sometimes hit him all at once, and send him into a spiral as he tried to process it all. He didn’t feel like talking about all the times he’d been out on patrol and almost gotten hurt because something hit a sense way too hard and threw his entire body off rhythm.

It didn’t seem he needed to though, because Stark just nodded and walked over to the board, writing something down and coming back.

_Sensory Input Controls._

“Alright, I’ve got some changes to make to it, but you and I are trying out the suit I made for you. Come on, kid.”

Peter was floored by the note on the board, but followed him anyway. “What?”

“I made you a suit, kid. Maybe now you won’t call my head of security bleeding out from five different knife wounds.”

“They were all from the same knife, though. That’s pretty good, right?”

The two of them walked out of the elevator and into the lab, and Tony could only sigh. “I don’t even want to know.”


	13. In the Works...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy's talk with Peter is still in the back of his head, so he starts working with Tony, among others, to find a way to keep the kid from biting off more than he can chew. 
> 
> Pepper makes an appearance, and Tony meets Gina via phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gina was so hard to write for, so let me know if anything feels weird about her, and what you think would help fix that! 
> 
> Love you all so much! I'm so psyched that you guys tune in for this! 
> 
> We hit 25k guys! We are halfway to what's officially considered a novel! 
> 
> Thanks for kudos and comments and subscriptions! Feel free, as always, to comment! 
> 
> Scream at me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Peter ended up asking Tony a series of questions that had the man pulling Peter in on the project he was working on – namely, an alteration to some of the suit’s mechanisms. These would allow him to reduce the stimuli he received if he wanted or needed to at any time. They had been at it for a couple of hours when Peter got a series of texts and one phone call.

“Hey, Gina.”

“What?” The kid shook his head. “No, I’m not putting you on speaker.”

“Because your track record of embarrassing me when I put you on speaker is a very long one, and I’m not- no. Gina! Come on, Linetti, did you really have to bring that up?”

Tony wanted to laugh at the one-sided conversation, but instead decided to humor this ‘Gina Linetti’.

“FRIDAY, put Mister Parker’s phone on speaker, will you?”

As soon as the acoustics changed and Gina could hear herself, she sighed. “See, was that so hard?”

“Linetti, you’re only on speaker because Mister Stark got curious.” Peter was glaring at the screen. “If you don’t know by now that I’m a stubborn asshole when I want to be then you haven’t been paying attention.”

“Sweetie, if I were paying attention to anyone but me, then my life would be so boring!” Gina could be heard almost growling into the phone. “Keep up, child.”

Peter and Gina kept going back and forth, and Tony couldn’t help but smile at the sass he was seeing from the kid as he helped Tony on the suit.

“Kid, pass me that.” Tony pointed at a tool that was beside Peter. He handed it to Tony and pointed at the lens Tony was working on.

“Want me to copy that over here?”

“If you want to,” Tony focused on what he was doing, turning to the computer he had the suit hooked up to while Peter replicated his work on the other side.

“Who are you talking to so much?” Gina sounded petulant, but Peter’s smirk told Tony enough to know that it was probably part of their banter. “Is this that Mister Tarp guy you talked about earlier?”

“You mean Mister Stark?” Tony laughed out loud at the indignant scoff coming from the other side of the phone.

“Hello, Miss Linetti. Tony Stark, at your service.” Tony waved, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

“Peter Benjamin Parker-Peralta, you dirty trickster!” Gina’s voice was filled with pride. “You almost snuck that one past me. Good work.”

“Still,  _technically,_ not a Peralta.”

“Oh, please, Jake’s mom loves you.” Gina scoffed as she moved something on the other end of the line. “When did you meet Tony Stark?”

Peter looked at Tony, as though asking permission. “How much does she know?”

Peter smirked. “Most of it, actually.”

Tony nodded. “I met Mister Parker as a result of his more dangerous extracurriculars.”

“So you’re deciding to help out?” Gina hummed. “Well, we’re going to have to talk, but something happens to him and I will destroy you.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Tony didn’t like that some small part of him felt a little intimidated by Gina's threat, even if he knew logically it would be very hard for her to accomplish.

“Sweetie, I’m capable of anything. How else do you think I carry this job without doing my work?”

It was Peter’s turn to scoff, though there was a hint of a laugh inside of it. “Gina, you hold down that job because you do your work, you just pretend like you don’t.

“Besides, whatever you don’t feel like doing, you shaft onto me.”

Tony felt oddly protective at the idea of the kid being used to do someone else’s work.

“Last I checked, Petey-pie, you and I have the same job, so all I’m doing is making sure you earn your keep.”

Peter chuckled at that, checking something in the lens he was working on before he made a note on the side of his homework, passing it over to Tony. _Do you think if we switched out the lens compound we could make the movement more efficient?_

“Alright, kiddo.” Gina’s speech was starting to drawl, and Tony could hear something that he suspected were fingers tapping on the other end. “I’m gonna let you go, because clearly you have more interesting things to be doing, but just know this – I will be telling the others about you meeting the man, the myth, and the legend. You hear me?”

“I thought Terry was the man, the myth, and the legend?”

“Oh, honey-buns, he _is_ , but you’re talking to one of the most infamous people in the world. I aspire to that kind of reputation.”

“Gina, you aspire to no one’s reputation.” Peter rolled his eyes.

Gina laughed. “You know me too well. Alright, bye-bye, child.”

Peter grumbled about not being a child as the line went dead.

“So, she was interesting.” Tony gestured to the phone. “Are all your Nine-Nine buddies like her?”

Peter laughed. “Not necessarily like Gina, but we’re all a little weird.”

Tony didn’t miss the ‘we’, and he didn’t miss the way the kid smiled once Tony started asking the right questions, or how he started to open up about the makeshift family he had.

*

Peter left Avengers Tower later that afternoon, sent off with Happy and giving a promise he would stay home and let his injuries heal.

“See ya, Hap.”

“Don’t get shot, kid.”

And as Happy started driving back, he thought about what Peter had said the night before. He had heard of Lieutenant Hawkins before. Something about her put Tony off whenever she appeared on the news, and Natasha always said she was covered in mud. Something about being able to spot a cover-up a mile away.

As soon as he got back, he tracked down Tony for a late-night research binge. It wouldn’t be the first time the head of Stark Industries security found himself researching someone’s background that wasn’t entirely relevant to his job.    

“Why are we digging into these more, Happy? Natasha already said that she’s pretty sure it’s another cover, but that Hawkins hid it too well to prove anything.” They were two hours into it, and Tony had found some information through more dubious methods.

Happy looked up from his screen and coffee. “The kid’s digging into it, and he’s already getting tangled into something that sounds dangerous. If we can get the two of them exonerated and Hawkins in prison before he digs too deep, then we can keep him alive. You know, one of the many impossible tasks you’ve decided to add to my job in the last few weeks?”

“It’s not impossible. Just a lot harder than keeping the average teenager alive.”

“Yeah, you weren’t the one that woke up at midnight to a series of texts from a potentially dying teenager.” Happy shook his head. “If you don’t want to work on this, I get it. I’ll do it myself.”

“I never said this. I just said that, as far as we can tell, there’s reason to believe we’re going to hit dead ends.”

Happy nodded. “I’ll take it.” He continued skimming the document. “What’s going on with the Accords?”

Tony shook his head. “Ross is sticking his nose where it’s not welcome or needed, is what’s going on. The UN Secretary General is losing his patience.”

“Anything new on the legal front?”

“There’s some new clauses being proposed for small-scale people.” Tony shrugged. “A bunch of countries have their own local heroes that work with the governments there. The argument is that, as long as they aren’t going international, they shouldn’t have to answer to an international body.

“I can’t say I disagree. The fewer people the UN has to manage, the more effectively they can manage the ones they do have.” Tony pulled two pages together, laying them side-by-side and analyzing them for some pattern that probably only he had caught. “It also means people like Peter can keep their identities hidden.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Happy highlighted some financial information on one of the documents. Something struck him as odd, so he passed it off to Tony. “What’s this look like to you?”

Tony shook his head. “It looks…” His eyes met Happy’s, widened as he caught onto the implications of Happy’s notes. He pulled out a few more pieces of paper, ones he had marked. “What did you say the name of the Nine-Nine’s captain was?”

“Raymond Holt.”

“Call him. He should see this.”

*

Within a few hours, Tony had Raymond Holt and Terry Jeffords in his lab space, a holographic board displaying a more organized version of the information he and Happy had dug up. They had continued digging, and Tony had gone back to the computer, typing like a maniac until he found what he wanted.

“You’re seeing it, right?” Tony popped another berry into his mouth. Raspberries, this time. Pepper must have done the grocery shopping. “You see the pattern?”

Holt was very no-nonsense. It reminded Tony a bit of Rogers, but there was something wiser in Holt’s demeanor. “Yes, I do.” He nodded. “You’re sure you can get this out anonymously? If it comes out Sergeant Jeffords and I knew about this, then the evidence could be considered questionable, if it isn’t ruled out from the court entirely.”

“I have entire departments for dealing with press messes. Something tells me they will be more than happy to stir up a press storm than settle one, for once.”

Captain Holt nodded. Sergeant Jeffords looked over his captain towards Tony. “Mister Stark, I really have to thank you. You didn’t have to do this, but your help is appreciated.”

“Please, just Tony, Sergeant.”

“Then just call me Terry.”

Tony nodded, and then carried on, pointing out lines of data. “If we follow this trail, which I did, you get a shell corporation licensed out to one of her criminal subordinates. We’ve got a couple more pages of data, some of which doesn’t really track to anything yet, but we’ve focused on what she’s got going for Peralta and Diaz. The shell corp she used to pay off that farmer man is tied to this account…”

Tony kept walking Holt through it before asking FRIDAY to call down Pepper.

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Holt and Terry were both still concerned, and it wasn’t until Pepper Potts, in all of her commanding glory, strode into the room.

“Tony, I swear to god, if I’m cleaning up another one of your messes I might just quit.”

“You’re not cleaning up a mess, you’re making one. And it’s not about me, it’s about a dirty cop.”

Pepper stopped short a moment, looking between Tony and the two cops in the lab. “Oh, no. What did you get wrapped into?”

“More of what the kid got wrapped into, and what we’re going to keep him from getting himself further drawn into.”

Pepper sighed. “Of course, you find the one kid in all of New York with more of a penchant for stupid stunts than yourself.”

“Hey!” Tony pointed at her. “I resent that. And anyway, we just need some people to get this information to news sources so that they can publish it, reopen the investigation, this time focusing on Hawkins, and then we can get the kid’s friends exonerated.”

“You make this sound so easy, but do you know how much time this is going to take? How much in resources it will cost? Do you know how many nights overtime the PR department is going to have to pull, just to make sure this can’t trace back to us?”

“You always did like a challenge.”

“Who are these two, then? We might need to call them back at some point.”

Tony made quick work of introductions. “I promise, because you’re being such a good sport about this, I will actually let you meet the kid this time. It wasn’t even intentional that the first time he came over you were still out of town, there was just a bit of a stabby situation.”

Pepper glared at him, shaking her head. “You’re cooking for yourself tonight.”

“But it’s Natasha’s turn to cook, and she’s making her specialty!”

“And you’re not getting any.” Pepper put a hand on her hip. “You know the second I say the word she’ll work with me.”

Tony waved at her. “Yeah, yeah. It’s fair anyway. I’m dragging you into a giant mess for a kid I just met, I can go one night without dinner.”

“I did not say go without dinner. If you don’t eat before you go to bed, I swear, I’ll have FRIDAY lock down this lab until you’ve eaten enough to compensate.”

“Perhaps we can focus on the matter at hand,” Captain Holt stepped between the two. “I don’t mean to interrupt this discussion, but how can Sergeant Jeffords and myself be of use to this endeavor?”

Pepper looked between the two of them. “I’m not sure when, but you’ll probably have to take part in a press conference. Preferably after these two,” she gestured to the holographic board beside the evidence that had Jake and Rosa’s mugshots on it, “are exonerated. And you’re going to have to keep that kid in check. If he isn’t careful, he could mess all of this up.”

Holt nodded. “I will increase his hours in the coming week at the precinct. Sergeant Jeffords, you will increase his training hours, as well. I will call the Parker household and inform May and Ben as to the plan. Perhaps, if he is kept too busy, we can prevent too much of his own involvement.”

Pepper nodded. “Thank you.” She turned to Tony. “And you! Eat something for dinner.”


	14. Amy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy and Peter have spent a lot of time together since Jake was arrested, usually after patrols. Clint likes to join them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise you'll get more of the actual Nine-Nine in the next couple chapters. I just wanted to explore some of Amy's connection to Peter, particularly pertaining to the fact that now they are bonding outside of work and Jake, even though it's because of Jake's arrest. 
> 
> Thanks for liking, subscribing, reading, and commenting! I live for the comment emails I get!!! They make my day! 
> 
> Scream at me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

When evidence first started coming out, Peter thought it was too good to be true. Even when Holt assured him that there was veracity, there was something that pushed at his mind, an instinct telling him not everything was going to be resolved.

But he had promised to stay away from Hawkins, at least a bit, so he was putting in the extra time in the precinct, and he was putting in extra time in patrolling. It was nice, he had to admit, to let someone else handle one of his issues for once. And the extra hours meant he could still help out financially while keeping a little bit of money for spending.

The paperwork was the dullest thing in his life, though, and he ended up spending much of his work time doing homework he hadn’t finished at school. The paperwork would be wrapped up for a bit after about an hour, meaning he had time. With more hours, he was starting to understand why Gina never looked like she was working.

“Peter,” Amy sat in front of him. “I know you and the sergeant train pretty hard, but I was hoping  I could jump in on it.”

“You’re pretty strong, already, Ames. You don’t have to…”

“I want to start working with people stronger than me.” Amy leaned forward. “I’m worried about Jake. I’ve read some articles, and prison can leave lasting damage on an inmates psyche. I want to be prepared for anything.”

Peter nodded, mulling it over. He had walked in once or twice when Mister Stark was in the middle of an episode of his own, and it could be terrifying. Amy was strong, but he could see why she was worried.

“If anyone can come out at least close to okay, it would be Jake. But if you want to jump in on the sessions, then yeah. Feel free. You didn’t even have to ask, Ames.”

“Thank you!” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good kid, Peter.”

“What?”

Amy tapped his shoulder once more. She had never been comfortable hugging him, but he didn’t let it get to him. She was affectionate in her own ways, especially when they weren’t in the office, where she felt the need to be the epitome of professionalism. She started walking back to her desk.

“Hey, Amy?”

“Yeah?”

“Mind if I crash at yours tonight?”

She smiled at him. “You didn’t even have to ask, Pete.”

*

May and Ben were keeping a closer eye on him as time passed, as well, making Peter a little suspicious. He trusted them, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious.

Tony had him over more often, and if it wasn’t Tony dragging him back to the Tower at least once a week for training or working in the lab, it was Clint showing up after his school let out to make him ‘enjoy his teen years’.

“Seriously, kid. I love the no-rebellion thing, even if it does come with a side of vigilantism, but you need to let loose a little!”

“Uncle Clint,” And when had that happened? He still sometimes stuttered out ‘Mister Stark’, but a couple of training sessions, one prank war, and a couple of well-placed jabs and he was already calling freaking Hawkeye his uncle. “I have exams coming up later. And besides, I’m going back to Amy’s after this.”

“Amy’s chill. I like Amy.”

Peter nodded. “You just like her because she cooks. She’s been getting in on Terry and my training sessions lately, though.”

“Cool.” Clint glanced over the side of one of the buildings before continuing. “Probably not a bad idea, considering.”

Clint had said patrolling New York was a nice way for him to destress after the more intense stuff he had to deal with during his work as an Avenger. He liked looking after Peter, too, something he had said explicitly to him on several occasions.

“Karen, what time is it?”

The AI in his suit displayed the time across the side of his vision. He was suddenly very glad Clint had suggested asking questions at the suit. He never would have considered the possibility that Tony had put an AI in it otherwise. “Hey, I’ve got about a half hour before I have to be at in for the night.”

“It’s 12:30 already?” Clint shook his head. “Damn.”

Peter nodded. He really liked the new suit, especially the aspect of it that provided some protection from knives and other close-range weapons. He had never told Tony about being shot, and given how far the man had gone to make sure his new suit could keep him from being stabbed, he knew it would just add more to the stress the man was dealing with.

“Did you look at the updates on the Accords?”

Clint shrugged. “I still don’t know about these, man. I get we need to be held accountable, but I’m just not so sure about signing on with another government agency after what went down with SHIELD.”

Peter and Clint were walking across roofs towards Amy’s apartment. “I think it’s not a bad idea. The UN is bigger than one government, and it’s been doing a lot, lately. Besides, how are we supposed to protect people if they don’t trust us? Even if it’s not perfect to start, we can lobby the UN for changes.”

“God, kid. You’ve given this a lot of thought.”

Peter shrugged. “Figured it kinda applies to me now, so I should be keeping my eyes on it.”

Peter didn’t hear Clint’s response, because he found himself moving towards a shout that was off-course.

“Kid!”

Peter kept moving, almost losing Clint a couple of times before he came to what he was looking for.

The bird-man was standing in front of two other men, both of whom were yelling over ‘faulty product’.

“That’s him.”

“Kid, if he’s tangled with Hawkins, we have orders to leave him alone.”

“But he’s selling something, and it sounds like it’s something illegal. I’m not going after him because of Hawkins, I’m going after him because he’s putting people in danger.”

“Kid, let it go for tonight. Please. I promise, if we catch him at this again, we can confront him. As it is, we know nothing about that suit of his, and you’re still learning how to use yours.”

“Clint…”

“Kid, if I have to drag you back to May and Ben’s, I’ll call Amy myself and explain the situation.”

“Do you even have her number?”

“Kid, you gave me the entire precinct’s contact info when you almost gave Happy a heart attack because you forgot to tell him your work schedule changed.” Clint shook his head. “I swear, he says he isn’t, but that man is attached.”

“Hey! That wasn’t my fault! Gina was sick, and her work was piling up!”

“Whatever, kid.” Clint gestured towards Amy’s apartment. “Come on. Amy always gives us good food after patrol, and I’m starving.”

“I’m with you, there.” Peter rolled his neck, feeling as much as he heard the joints pop in the process.

“Ugh. I never realized how gross that looked _or_ sounded until you did it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, you’re the one that wanted food.”

*

It was true. Amy stayed up for them, which used to make Peter uncomfortable until he realized it was a way for her to cling to a reminder of Jake, watching out for him. While she waited, she ended up cooking a meal, usually one that would be enough to feed her and Jake for a couple of days. He and Clint would end up eating most of it within a sitting, something that always made Amy smile.

“Thank you for looking out for him.”

Peter had walked off to the bathroom, and after turning off the water from washing his hands, he paused to listen in.

“He’s fun. Even if he is a complete dork.” Peter walked out in time to see Clint gesture at a binder on Amy’s desk. “But it looks like he comes by it naturally.”

“When he was in middle school, he couldn’t organize his notes to save his life. We spent a lot of nights at May and Ben’s going over his notes and copying them into a study-able system.”

“God, Ames,” Peter tapped her shoulder as he walked around the table to take his seat next to Clint. “I forgot about that.”

“Ah, you’ll never escape it now. I’ve seen your notes. I’ve rubbed off on you.”

Clint laughed a bit. “Alright, well he’s here, he’s safe.” He punched Peter’s shoulder lightly, nodding at his shoulder. “I know you messed that up on patrol. Let Ames take a look at it, then get some rest, alright kid? I know you’re gonna be up stupid early for school, so get what sleep you can.”

“Yes, sir.”


	15. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Pepper's plans go well, and Peter has something to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't want to spoil too much too early, which is why I kept the whole Natasha/Rosa thing on the down-low and didn't tag it. Thanks spiderboyneedsahug for letting me talk to you about my ideas for this fic!!! 
> 
> Also, second update in one day!! Or, two, technically, because it's one a.m. here, but whatever. 
> 
> Love all of you, thank you for reading/commenting/subscribing/leaving kudos! You all make my day!! 
> 
> Let's chat on tumblr! putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Peter’s tests wrapped up, and suddenly it was summer. Ben and May made an effort to spend more time with him, but more often than not, if he wasn’t working or hanging out with the Nine-Nine, he was hanging out at Avengers Tower during their shifts. Clint had started training him, too, and even invited some of the Nine-Nine in on it. The end of the summer was met with Clint collaborating with Natasha, who was overseeing their current course from above.

There was more and more evidence that had come out against Hawkins, but the Nine-Nine had stopped him following the story in the middle of summer, going to efforts that were so hilariously ridiculous that Peter felt inclined to humor them. And if that hadn’t convinced him, Gina’s involvement had. She had even joined in on the training with Clint on occasion as part of the “Nine-Nine bonding”.

“Come on!” Clint was shouting from the center of the acrobatics course. Peter was keeping up with it better than the Nine-Nine, but even he was struggling. “Is that all you got?”

“Why are we running this for the fifth time?”

Peter was breathing heavily by the time he got to the top of the next obstacle. “Because I said so.”

“God, you’re such a dad.”

“Sass will make you have to run it again, Parker.”

Peter rolled his eyes. He almost didn’t put it together when a new voice entered Clint’s taunting. “Aw, you been getting soft, Petey?”

He stumbled as soon as he recognized it. “What the fuck?”

He fell off the obstacle as he was admonished by Natasha and Holt for his language, barely managing to catch himself on the side of it before the fifteen feet became zero.

“Jake?”

He stood below him, still with a bit of prison beard, and looking up towards Peter, his arms open. “What? You miss me?”

“Yeah, you jerk!” Peter jumped down from where he had stuck himself to the side, landing just in front of Jake enough to launch himself at him. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were getting out?”

“We didn’t want you getting your hopes up at first, and when it was all cemented we decided to surprise you.” Jake was practically crushing Peter, shaking a little bit before the two let go.

The gesture was definitely reciprocated.

Rosa was next, coming up to him and putting one arm around him, glaring to the side as though she wanted to be anywhere else.

“Message received, Diaz.”

Her lip curled up a bit, somewhere between a smile and a scowl, before she gestured at the obstacle course. “I’m trying this.”

“I’d laugh if you didn’t.”

*

Peter had taken to Natasha much how he had taken to Rosa. He had sat in silence with her, the two of them doing separate work. Eventually it got to the point where when one got up for water or a snack, they grabbed some for the other.

And now, Peter had to watch as Rosa and Natasha sized each other up. If he was honest, it made him feel a little weird. Not in the ‘something’s going to happen’ way, but in the way it had been when Rosa had first started dating Adrian. He was watching the two side-eye each other and make quiet quips at one another. Because he was fairly certain he wasn’t meant to hear it, he opted to ignore it and stay near Jake.

“Ah, man! I missed you!”

He was being crushed into Jake’s side when Tony walked in, raising an eye at the Nine-Nine. “Your friends are all here. Glad to see those two are out now.”

Jake jumped up, walking over to Tony. “Jake Peralta, and may I say, thank you very much!”

Tony waved him off, and some of the pieces started to fall into place. “You did this?”

Tony smirked. “Yeah, kid. Enjoy it.”

Peter made to follow Tony as he left the room, though, staying silent until they were down the hall a ways.

“Seriously, thank you.” Peter grabbed his upper arm. “I don’t know if you have any idea how much this means to me.”

“I get it, kid. You’ve known him since you were little. It had to suck having him locked up like that.”

Tony knew Peter wasn’t one to contradict him. It made him feel a little weird until he had talked to Ben and May and they explained a little of Peter’s situation – that it wasn’t just hero worship, but a genuine respect for the man himself and the tough calls he had made over time, even if Tony felt it was undeserved. There was more to the story, but neither May or Ben were willing to tell it without Peter’s blessing. This fact of Peter’s nature, though explained why he was floored when Peter spoke next, contradicting him and meeting his eyes the entire time.

“No. You don’t. Jake was there for me on the worst night of my entire life. He kept checking up on me, because he knew how hard it was going to be after. He’s been there since I was eight for every detention, report card, accolade… He’s been there for years. And yeah, he’s a goofy idiot, and he isn’t the most responsible person, but he cared. I know I had May and Ben, but Jake…

“You did so much more than help me get back someone I’ve known a long time. You brought back my brother. I… I know I’m not always the most pleasant to be around, and that the last few weeks especially I’ve been snappish.” That was an overstatement. Peter hadn’t been rude, but he had been curt. Snappish was a stretch. Though, he had also taken to hiding and lying about injuries as if he thought Tony couldn’t see through the tense shoulders or rigid steps. “I didn’t know why people were keeping me from the news. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my cool, but… It doesn’t matter. What matters, is you did something I was thinking more and more impossible every day. Thank you. Seriously, thank you so much.”

Tony nodded. “Kid, it was nothing. And you’re hardly ever unpleasant, Underoos. Now scram, go hang out with your brother and your weird murder sister.”

Peter’s head bopped up a bit, and a smirk appeared on his face. “Murder sister. I like that. I’m gonna tell Rosa you came up with it.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare! I’m not…” But Peter had already closed the door, waving at him as he slipped inside the common room. “dying yet…”

*

As the evening drew closer, Peter withdrew from the Avengers more into the Nine-Nine. By the end of the night, Tony had barely managed to squeeze in a few minutes to talk to the kid again before he was getting on Rosa’s motorcycle behind her and leaving.

He didn’t, however, miss the look he threw between Rosa and Natasha. If there was ever a reason to fear the kid, this could be it. If he had any ideas about those two, he would try to rope at least on cohort (probably Barton, though now that Peralta was back he could spring for the both of them), and then would do something to set the two of them off that would end up with Tony having to help out and/or clean up the mess. As hilarious as it would undoubtedly be, the mess of a pissed off spy/assassin and secretive cop with at least one skeleton in the closet was not one that would be as fun to clean up, because it would involve actual safety concerns.

“I thought you’d be crashing at your brother’s tonight.” Maybe if he distracted him, he could keep the kid from putting whatever plan it was he had into place.

“Are you kidding? It’s Jake and Amy’s first night together in months. No way am I getting in the middle of that.”

Tony ignored the slightly irrational part of him that wanted to yank Parker off the motorcycle the second it started up and just nodded. “Alright then. Stay safe.” He turned to Rosa. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

Rosa nodded in his direction. “Thanks for keeping an eye on the kid.”

Tony walked inside as they left, still laughing at Peter’s mumbled. “Not a damn kid.”


	16. Intertwined In Spider's Thread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer a question: Yes, Peter has invented the webs. I referenced them briefly in Chapter 11, but just to be more clear, he has. Also, the song from the beginning of the part at the Nine-Nine is one of my favorites! Do any of you know it? 
> 
> Thanks again for commenting, reading, and leaving kudos!! 
> 
> Scream at me on tumblr! putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Peter knew he didn’t have to keep pursuing the man he had tentatively dubbed “The Vulture”, but that didn’t change the fact that the man was selling powerful, deadly weapons in his city, in his _neighborhood_. So, while he spent a lot of his patrol on the lower-to-the-ground criminals he, May, and Ben had agreed on, he also spent some time (whenever Clint wasn’t following him around on patrol) digging around into the man. There were a few people who could give him bits and pieces, but there was nothing close to an identity or a way to contact him.

Maybe it was because he hadn’t made the effort to find informants, but it was still frustrating. He couldn’t get anything from the news, because no one had caught onto it yet.

And that’s what led him to sit in front of Natasha on her floor. The open space of her floor was fairly basic. Everything was in dark colors, and all entrances or exits were firmly closed.

“What did you need, Spider-child?”

“If I wanted to get information on someone that was being really elusive, how would I do it?”

“Have you tried back-tracking?”

“What’s that?”

Natasha leaned forward on the table. “You ask the people you know they’re connected to, or that those people are connected to, until you get something concrete.”

Peter nodded. “I’ve been trying that.” He shook his head. “I can’t get anything from them.”

Natasha held his eyes another moment. “How dangerous is your target?”

Rosa had taught Peter how to maintain a cover, and then she taught him how to psych himself out for lying by turning it into a cover with partial truths. He should have known it wouldn’t work on the world’s most well-known spy.

“He manufactures some weapons, and those are pretty dangerous, but I know I can take him.”

Natasha leaned back in her chair. ‘You’re lying to me, but I give you points for effort.

“Tell me what you know, and I’ll see what I can dig up. My only condition is that you don’t confront this man without a plan or back-up unless absolutely necessary.”

“I can’t let him put people in Queens in danger by selling these weapons.”

“I’ll see what I can do about stopping him.” Her hand twitched a little. A tell she was lying, or of nerves? “With the Accords coming up, we have to pick our battles carefully. If we want bargaining power, we have to make sure we don’t have any monumental screw-ups before they’re ratified.”

Peter nodded. “I’d guess that applies to me, too.”

Natasha’s hand made a ‘so-so’ gesture. “You’re local, never fought outside the country. Keep your head down, though, if you can. Help people, but minimize the damage wherever you can.”

Peter nodded. “Thanks, Miss Romanoff.”

“Peter, it’s Natasha.”

Peter smied. “If you’re sure.”

She nodded before gesturing to her door. “Now go. I know you’re avoiding your homework.”

Sometimes being around adults sucked…

*

“And if you wanna start a fight, you better through the first punch. Make it a good one! And if you wanna make it through the night, you better say my name like…”

Peter and Jake had been having a contest to see who could belt the songs playing from Gina’s radio the longest. Quality didn’t matter so much to them, to the chagrin of the others in the bullpen. Holt was out for a meeting, and Terry had a perp in interrogation, meaning a complete lack of supervision.

It was Gina that finally made them stop.

“You two need to do something that isn’t as noisy, and preferably far more entertaining!”

“Like?” Jake and Peter should have known better than to hand the keys to the challenge to Gina, but sometimes they still trusted her.

Her smirk was the first thing to remind them that she could be dangerous. “Oh, sweetie, I have an idea.”

*

The improvised contest was fairly fun. They were made to lipsync to a song of Gina’s choosing, and they had to improv a dance to it. Neither of them were particularly good dancers, but they were willing to try.

Gina had set herself up in front of them to record it, and Rosa had disappeared with Amy into the break room on written orders from Gina.

“This is going to end horribly for us, isn’t it?”

Peter laughed at Jake. “What clued you in?”

Jake shook his head as Amy and Rosa walked into the room. Peter wished he could have seen what they were carrying, but Gina started the song and he redirected his attention. It was an older one, 2007 or 2008 if he recalled, but it was one of Gina’s favorites – Umbrella.

He didn’t know all of the lyrics, but then neither did Jake, which made for an interesting lip sync. Their improvised dancing was terrible, even worse than some of Amy’s victory dances, and the two of them ended up laughing more than anything, some of their moves starting to play off one another. Charles was cheering Jake on from the side, and as Terry walked in to put his guy in lock-up, he just shook his head.

It wasn’t the _worst_ thing they’d ever done during the work day, and if the captain didn’t find out, he didn’t have to worry about it.

Peter’s senses went haywire during the second to last chorus, when Gina nodded at Rosa and Amy, pointing between Jake and Peter, and for good reason. They had been carrying buckets of water, apparently, and he and Jake were soon drenched and dancing on a linoleum floor.

It didn’t take long for either of them to fall to the floor. Jake’s head smacked against the floor, but he sat up with a quick, “I’m fine!”

He wasn’t, Peter was pretty sure, but the two of them were leaning back on their elbows, laughing too hard while the song wrapped up to care.

He hadn’t laughed that hard in a while… He needed it. Without even realizing it, he had let go of a lot laughing like that.

“I love the both of you, and you’re going to make me go _viral_.”

There could be worse videos of him to go on the internet. There _had_ been worse videos of him put on the internet (he still shuddered at the one Gina had posted of him sleep-talking at his desk the day after a particularly rough school-day and patrol).

*

 Happy hadn’t meant to find the YouTube channel all those weeks ago, but now that he had it let him let go of the worry that accumulated when he had gone too long without seeing the kid.

Screw Tony for getting him attached.

But it was still nice to see the kid having fun and laughing, getting up to slightly-closer-to-normal-teenager shenanigans instead of swinging around from buildings and fighting crime. If he sent some of the videos to Clint or Tony on occasion? Who was to say…

*

Natasha followed her leads and contacts until she got what she was looking for. It wasn’t a photo or a name, not yet.

But it was a better connection. And that was closer than Peter had gotten. If she could help him eliminate the threat early, she could prevent him from falling into any danger on his own. If she took it to Tony, she risked him punishing the kid for digging into it. She didn’t know how well that would play with Peter, given he could be fairly stubborn when he wanted to be. Steve was out of the question – he and Peter had met briefly, and it hadn’t been a pleasant meeting. It was no secret within the Avengers that Peter was Spider-Man, and Steve had made his distaste clear. Age and maturity didn’t always correlate, though, which is why Natasha, having seen the darker looks when something hit a little too close to home – the angry, hurt, sad, and plain dark looks – didn’t take too much issue with it. If he was staying safe, that was all that mattered.

She had slipped her number in his emergency contacts when she got the chance, just in case.

Instead, she went to Clint. He kept close to the kid, almost as close as Tony did, and would be in a position to help out more when it was time to bring him in. Because if there was one thing Natasha knew well, it was that when something was this close to someone, they didn’t appreciate being cut out of the loop. She would include Peter in it when it was time, but first she wanted as much of an edge as possible.

“You’re telling me he kept looking?”

Natasha nodded. “Are you surprised?”

Clint shook his head. “That’s the worst part. I’m not.”

Natasha laughed. “He’s turning into a miniature version of you. Weren’t you getting into dangerous stunts like this around his age?”

A groan. “Don’t remind me. The last thing we need is a younger me running around here.” He fiddled with his hearing aide. They were fairly small, nondescript. Something most people wouldn’t notice, making it easier when he was fulfilling part of his role as a spy.

But they bothered him. They didn’t always fit quite right where they were supposed to, sometimes they itched. Most of all, he had told her, he hated the clogged feeling in his ears when he wore them too long.

“Well he’s got us at his back. He doesn’t have to go through what we did.”

Clint nodded. He took his copy of the file and the thumbdrive from Nat. “Yeah.”

As he was walking out the door, he glanced back at Nat. “I’ll check into this tomorrow, alright? After the kid’s done patrolling, I’ll do some of my own digging.”

“Thank you, Clint.”

“No need.”


	17. Accordingly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony clash, and Peter has a surprising bit to contribute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like, growing up with Rosa and Holt around him, Peter learns how to reign himself in a bit when necessary. He's also used to dealing with people who treat him more like an adult, which is part of why he kind of takes offense at Steve just dismissing him out of hand. 
> 
> I'll address what Charles and Peter were talking about a bit later, but I wanted some of this stuff to happen first.
> 
> Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting!! 
> 
> Let's talk! My tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

There was still tension, even if they managed to make it work. Jake carried some of the stress of prison with him even afterward, and as much as he tried to be happy-go-lucky, there was something clearly bothering him.

So Peter asked him about it. It didn’t end badly, but it didn’t end well either, and Gina could tell in moments. Suddenly, he had Charles cornering him on one end of the precinct while Gina hounded Jake on the other.

“You have to give him time, you know how Jake is, he’s sensitive.”

“He still laughs when I swing into a building.”

“Underneath all that.” Charles gestured at his heart. “Jake’s such a good person.”

“I’m not denying that he’s a good person, Charles, I’m just saying, if he’s sensitive, it’s pretty deep underneath.”

Charles shook his head. “You know him more than almost anyone here. He’ll be fine, he just needs to _feel_.”

Peter’s features scrunched together. “I don’t know man… I was thinking of giving him some bottle rockets and finding an excuse for us to find a field outside the city to go nuts.”

Charles paused a moment, looking at Peter. “Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.”

*

Clint tracked down a Phineas Mason, but he got very little from the times he managed to trail him. Whatever information he was picking up on the street was old, meaning the group distributing these weapons – and it had to be a group, given how prolific and refined the operation was – had been doing it for several years, at least.

“We can worry about it after the move to the new facility.” Natasha was hitting the bag, glaring at it as if she could answer her question through sheer force alone.

“Or we can worry ‘bout it now. You know, before the kid gets hurt.”

Natasha shook her head, glancing around to make sure her lips wouldn’t be readable by any cameras before whispering, “Stark knows we’re looking into this. He isn’t mad about it, but if he knows the kid is involved, he could get protective.”

Clint nodded. “Good call, then.”

Natasha went back to working the bag. “Besides, we have hardly any time here as is. Pepper has us all booked for PR stunts or for helping with the move.”

“That’s going to be nice, being upstate.” Clint sighed. “I can practically smell the fresh air now.”

“Alright, Farmer-boy.” Natasha threw a light punch at his shoulder. Her workout was just about over, anyway. “Enough with the nature talk. I’m just glad we’ll be more isolated.”

New York City had been hard on Natasha, who preferred anonymity and quiet spaces to places where people always recognized her and had something to say. Given how many people were in New York, it was inevitable that she had come across people who not only had positive things to say, but decided to critique her history with a moral comb. More than once, Clint had seen her staring out the window, her face blank. When asked, all she would say is “We were children without a choice.”

It had been Starks idea to move base out of the tower and leave it just for the company, but it had been Clint who suggested somewhere off the beaten path. As much as he felt uncomfortable asking anything of Stark, he couldn’t help but worry over his oldest friend. He and Nat had been through a lot together – Budapest, Nat had set him up with Laura to begin with, and then been there to keep him from panicking when his first kid was born. He had helped her out of nightmares and spirals where the Red Room came back to haunt her with a vigor that could only come out of a childhood trauma.

So he joined her for the end of her workout, and then he walked with her until they found a place to sit and talk.

*

Steve wouldn’t say he stormed into Tony’s lab, but it certainly wasn’t the most friendly way to walk in.

“I heard you’re recruiting a kid.”

“I’m giving the kid access to resources that could help keep him alive.”

“However you slice it, he’s still a kid.”

Tony hadn’t even looked up from his project. “The kid has me, Barton, Romanoff, and an entire police precinct at his back. If we weren’t manning him, he would be running around unsupervised. ‘However you slice it’, it’s better the kid has some people watching over him than running around getting knifed with nowhere to go.”

“Tony, do you hear yourself? First you try to get these Accords set up, and then you bring a kid in? And he’s getting knifed in the middle of the city!”

“Cap, stand down.”

“You’re not my superior officer, Stark.”

“You’re right, because this isn’t a military.” Tony stood up. “And we aren’t working outside the law. We work with people, Cap. We protect them, but we need them to trust us first.”

“These Accords are ridiculous. They want us to register like animals!”

“They want us to register like we would if we were trying to buy a gun. Can you honestly tell me that knowing who is operating globally is a bad idea?”

“What do you mean globally?”

“I mean that by _negotiating_ with the UN, we talked them down from every enhanced individual has to be registered with them to only the ones operating internationally.” Tony spread his hands out. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that would you? Because you rushed in, you didn’t give it a second thought, and now you’re in here, using Peter as an excuse to yell at me when what you’re really pissed about is that no one pulled you in on the Accords.

“Well, newsflash, Steve! You don’t have experience with politics. I do, and so does Natasha, which is why we were in the negotiations.”

Steve’s shoulders began to square, and he started coming closer to Tony. “This isn’t about the Accords Tony, this is about you doing whatever you damn well please when we are a _team_. Or did you forget that?”

“This _team_ can do a lot more with people actually supporting us.”

There was a crash from the other side of the lab and some swearing before a somewhat disoriented Peter clambered up from the floor. “Sorry! You guys were getting pretty intense, so I figured I’d just walk the walls until I found what I needed and get out…”

“Kid, whatever you needed, you could have just come in and asked for.”

Peter shrugged. The kid was too calm, though. He was actively trying to control his reactions to being in the same room as Rogers, Tony could see it in the way his hand kept twitching, like he wanted to reach out and introduce himself. The way he was holding Tony’s gaze and smirking told him he was trying to emulate someone, probably himself or Diaz if he had to guess. “I’m not getting in the middle of this pissing contest.”

“Language, kid.” Tony shook his head. “Rogers was just leaving, anyway.”

“Oh, was I?”

“Yes, you were. You have three weeks to figure out if you’re going to sign the damn Accords or go into retirement.”

“You don’t like the Accords?” Peter seemed genuinely concerned. “You’re like… the poster-boy for model behavior. Our school literally plays the PSA’s nonstop. What’s your issue with the Accords?”

Peter had glided over a table with ease, something he likely learned from Rosa, but the sharp tool in his hand had made Tony clutch helplessly at the air while choking on a cry of concern.

“You really gotta be more careful, kid. Seriously, that thing’s sharp. At the very least, do it so I don’t have a heart attack and end up in an early grave.”

Peter nodded at Tony. “Still, what’s your problem with the Accords?”

Steve glowered. “We need to be looking out for everybody we can. If we’re under someone else’s control, they could keep us from people that need help. Political bodies have agendas.”

“So?” Peter shrugged. “SHIELD had an agenda. And our entire government is built on checks and balances, so why shouldn’t you guys be checked on?”

“Kid, stay out of what you don’t understand.”

“I understand plenty.” Normally, Tony would tell him off, tell him to let the adults talk, but he wanted to see where Peter was going. “I have to report to one of six people after every patrol and get a medical sign-off, and then I have to give Mister Stark a run-down of what I did each week. I might not like it, but it keeps me in line and keeps me safe. That’s what the UN wants to make sure is happening with you. Keeping you from putting yourselves and others in danger.”

“We were helping people. Son, are you sure you want to get into this debate right now?”

“One, I’m not your son.” Tony knew Peter had a little fire in him from growing up around Rosa, Jake, and Gina, but once in a while he could hear something from the kid that sounded vaguely like him, and he felt a little proud of it. “Two, yeah. Let’s do this. Why do you do what you do?”

“What?”

“Why are you Captain America?”

“To fight off threats.”

“And why do you fight off threats?”

“Because they pose a danger.”

Peter’s eyebrow went up. Twice in one day… Tony must be dreaming. “Okay, are you being dense on purpose?”

The droll tone and slight shake of Peter’s head was all Rosa. He’d met the woman a handful of times since meeting Holt and Jeffords, and was impressed. She was the embodiment of “Talk shit, get hit” and a whole host of other violent mottos.

“Excuse me?”

Peter rolled his eyes, pulling a chair out and sitting on it, his arms hanging over the back. “Why do threats matter? What are you protecting from the threats?”

Tony made a note to have FRIDAY save this footage. He was sending this to May, Jake, and Rosa. This was too good.

Peter was a good kid, a nice kid. It’s why he was already fairly close with Barton, and had a developing relationship with Nat that bordered on motherly. But, every once in a while, the kid had a spark of snark in him that left the people around him howling. He was good at hiding it, but his defenses weren’t perfect, and things slipped through the cracks.

“Where are you going with this, son?”

“Again, not your kid.” Peter’s head cocked a bit to the side. “Where I’m going is that you’re protecting people. Everyday citizens. And if they can’t trust you, you can’t do your job.

“I’ve been following the story for a while, and I can’t blame them. After Sokovia, after the invasion a while back… Hell, even after the Stark Expo there was a lot of clean-up. Mister Stark took responsibility for the Expo, he made efforts to bolster the clean-up after New York. He’s holding himself accountable, and it’s why the people like him. He apologizes, takes responsibility, and takes steps to make it better.

“With great power comes great responsibility. And that responsibility to others means you have to work with them, even if you disagree. Especially if it’s something like this, where your noncompliance could be a huge safety risk.

“But that’s just my two cents. See ya, Mister Stark. I gotta finish this project and then I’m crashing at Jake’s.”

“Stay safe, kid. Don’t get shot or maimed. And-“

“Don’t do anything you would do, and definitely don’t do anything you wouldn’t do. You got it!” And with that, the kid was gone, the door shutting behind him.

Tony shook his head before turning back to Steve. “Looks like you’ve got something to think about, Rogers.”


	18. Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake's been acting weird, not that Peter knows why. 
> 
> (And ya boi Ned Leeds shows up).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter because it's late and I'm tired. I'll try to make up for it tomorrow. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, commenting, etc! I can't tell you how excited I get to see the emails about a comment or the kudos emails!!! It's amazing!
> 
> Come say hi: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

“I’m barely late!”

“You’re ten minutes late!” Jake was throwing his hands around in the air, flailing while Peter stood in the living room. Amy was sitting over a coffee cup, her head in her hands.

“I would have been here on time, but there was a woman ten blocks from here that was about to be hurt! I couldn’t let that happen!”

“You agreed to midnight. It’s almost 12:20.”

“I got here ten minutes ago! I could have showered and treated my injuries by now! I could be laying down to sleep!”

“No, Peter! You agreed to midnight for your own safety, and here you are flouting the curfew!”

Peter knew there was bound to be a bit of a blow up. He and Jake had been tip-toeing around each other, pretending everything was fine, but it wasn’t. Every time this had happened in the past, it ended faster and better when Peter was stubborn, when he held his ground.

He was willing to admit when he was wrong, but in this case the issue wasn’t curfew. Something else was bugging Jake.

“I’m fine, Jake. I have bruises and a couple of scrapes. What’s the big deal if I’m a couple of minutes late _once_?”

Jake fell on the couch, sighing and rolling his eyes around in sync with his neck. Good, if he was being dramatic they were going to come down from the fight. “It’s not the curfew.”

“No kidding.”

“Hey,” he aimed a light glare at Peter. “You were still late, and I’m totally telling May.”

“Ben.”

“May.”

“Come on, Jake! You know she’ll kill me! Tell Ben instead!”

Amy stood up. “Will you two stop fighting?” She pointed at Jake. “You, tell Ben. You,” now she was aiming at Peter, “go get changed. You can continue this discussion when you’re clean and in normal clothing.”

“Yeah, Ames was never one for tight clothes.” Jake’s smile was back, meaning things would calm down and they could talk about the actual issue.

“You’re telling me.” Peter closed the bathroom door behind him, changing into pajamas. When he walked out, he landed sideways on the couch, throwing his legs over Jake. “So, where were we?”

Jake pushed his legs off before taking up his own portion of the couch, facing Peter. “Well, tell me what you dealt with today.”

*

“What do you think about these Accords?”

Steve didn’t have many opportunities to talk one on one with his teammates. Part of that was that he spent a lot of his free time anymore with Sam or looking for Bucky instead of going to any of the small, somewhat spontaneous gatherings the team was prone to having. Getting Natasha on her own was an opportunity, and he was going to talk to the most level-headed of his teammates before he talked to the others.

“I think they aren’t a bad idea. Maybe they’re poorly executed, but things can be changed.”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t know, Nat. They feel wrong.”

“They feel wrong because you’re stubborn. You don’t trust anyone without a military background, but that’s what we’re going to have to start doing. The kid was right. Our responsibility is to the people.”

“You know about that?”

Natasha smiled, “About him tearing you a new one? Yeah. Peter and I get along well, so Stark likes to send me footage of when the kid is doing something noteworthy. Normally it involves him falling into things or crashing into walls, but sometimes I get better stuff.”

Steve sat down, lifting his head towards Nat. “Tell me about this kid.”

*

Ned and Peter hardly spent time together outside of Decathalon and Robotics Lab anymore, and it was starting to bother Ned. Maybe that’s why, a day about six weeks into the school year, he decided to camp out in Peter’s room after school.  May had said Peter was definitely staying at home tonight – and that was definitely weird, that Peter was spending more and more time in Brooklyn. A couple of times he had even stayed with some ‘friend’ in Manhattan, and last Ned knew (when there weren’t secrets between them) Peter didn’t know anyone in Manhattan.

So hearing a door slam open, a “Hey, May, Ben!” and then watching Peter storm through his room, throw a stack of folders on his desk with ‘ _NYPD’_ emblazoned across the front, and then walk back to the kitchen to look for his relatives (and, presumably, food, since he never stopped eating in the last few months) threw Ned for a loop. Granted, he had just walked out of the bathroom, but Peter hadn’t even looked around. He walked straighter, now, too. Taller.

“Peter?”

“Oh, Ned! Sorry, man, didn’t see ya!” Peter smiled, and there was something more confident in it. In school, Peter was still the same, but something was up. Peter didn’t walk around like he could take on the world, it just wasn’t like him.

“What’s in that folder?”

“Just some files I gotta read through for Holt. They’re old case files that are going to be declassified, so I’m allowed to see them, but I need to black out names of family members and victims to protect privacy.”

Ned nodded. They sat in silence, something that was clearly uncomfortable for the both of them, even though it didn’t used to be.

“What’s going on with you? You’ve been really… absent.”

Peter’s face fell. “Oh, man. Oh, man. I told May and Ben that the job and the… that the job wouldn’t mess with my social life and here I am leaving behind my best friend! I’m so sorry.” He ran to his closet. “I meant to tell you about this, though! May and Ben splurged on this really cool Lego set since I’ve been doing pretty well at my job, and I was waiting to build it with you! Holt cancelled my shift today, though, and since you’re already here we can do it!”

“Dude! Sweet! How many pieces?”

Yeah, it sucked that Peter was getting super busy lately, but they would find an equilibrium.

He still felt the need to ask, about half an hour in. “We’re good, yeah?”

Peter nodded, looking up. “Of course, man. I should be asking you that. I’m so sorry, man.”

Ned shrugged, pushing together a few of the pieces together. “I get it. You’ve got a job and stuff… Is it fun? Having a job?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah. I like having a job. I can help May and Ben out with the bills, and then they make me keep some of the money for spending cash.”

“Dude, that’s so cool!”

“Right?” Peter rolled his wrist, making the joint pop. He had never done that before, and the sound kind of bothered Ned, but he let it slide. “It’s great. Working for Holt is really weird, because he’s kinda like a dad to me, but whatevs.”

“God, I can tell you’ve been spending time with Gina.” Ned rolled his eyes, throwing an instruction booklet to the side and pulling the next one out. “She’s so weird. Good weird, though.”

“True enough.”

“Remember when she gave Jake shit for that ‘reply all’ on the email about Terry’s kid?”

“You mean when Sharon was pregnant with Ava? Yeah. That was hilarious. She literally made me sit down and teach him about email. She filmed it, but it was before the YouTube channel, and I think she deleted it to take more selfies.”

“Or make more vines. She’s pretty funny when she wants to be.”

Peter nodded. Conversation started to ebb and flow more naturally after that. Sure, he was more busy, but maybe Ned didn’t need to worry about Peter. They were best friends. They would be fine.

*

Jake looked around the diner, finding the booth.

“Doug Judy.”

“Jake!” Doug Judy raised a hand for a high-five. “Long time since I’ve seen you.”

“Yeah, well, prison.” Jake bobbed his head, taking the seat. “Do you have anything new for me?”

“On that mugger in Queens?” Doug Judy shook his head. “Nothing since last time we talked. He’s still after something high-tech enough he can take out that Spider-dude. What’s got you so hung up on this anyway?”

Jake shook his head. Peter’s identity was important to protect.

“Nothing, man. Just don’t like that this guy is out on the streets.”

“It’s not even your precinct, Peralta. What’s wrong?”

Jake shook his head. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Doug Judy nodded, taking the hint and changing the subject. “Oh, I get it. It’s a personal issue. Well, alright. You should get the cold cut. It’s good!”


	19. Concerns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake's concern for Peter leads him to unexpected plans and allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised it would be longer this chapter, and I delivered! 
> 
> I totally could see Peter picking up some of Jake's humor, which is why I included it. While Jake's use of the joke became a kind of flirtation with Amy, it's more general with Peter. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, liking, commenting, etc! You guys are the best!! 
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr! Don't be shy, I would love to get to know you guys!   
> URL: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

The next time Peter came around for training he was slated to work with Natasha instead of Clint. She had brought Steve in, telling him that it would be best for him to meet Peter before deciding he was incompetent based on his age. Peter, to his credit, was still pulling out the stops to act neutral towards Steve, but there was something in his posture that suggested extreme distaste.

“Alright, kid, what’s your problem?”

Peter looked up. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Everyone I’ve spoken to says you’re pretty excitable. Is something wrong?”

“All due respect, Mister Rogers, sir, but I don’t talk about personal stuff with people I don’t know.”

“Kid, you can trust me. What’s wrong?”

Natasha didn’t miss the slight, the cutting of ‘captain’ from the title. She was sure Steve had brushed it off as a simple mistake, but she had known Peter long enough to know – he had done it to test the waters.

“It’s a personal matter, sir. Please respect that and stop asking.”

“Alright.”

Training continued on from there, but Natasha could see that it bothered Steve that Peter didn’t respond to the question. If Rosa had to guess, it was likely an issue with Jake. As brothers, the two kept their conflicts private. If he had clashed with May or his friend Ned, he likely would have given more information. If it were Flash (whom he didn’t think she knew about), he would have shrugged it off.

He wasn’t even responding to the inquiry besides to demand privacy, meaning he was protecting someone.

She was going to have to meet the officers of the Nine-Nine if one of them meant this much to their newest recruit. She was looking forward to it, especially seeing the slightly straighter way Peter was moving in training. His efforts to close himself off had him imitating someone, and that was someone she certainly wanted to meet.

*

Peter stayed some nights, particularly when it was Natasha training him. So, sitting at the dinner table with Clint on his other side and Tony sitting not too far away, Pepper and Happy near him, Natahsa was glad to see Peter relax a bit. Sam was across from him, and the two got along fairly well, Rhodes joining in on their light jabs throughout dinner.

“Wow, kid. If I knew you were going to get along with everyone so well I would have dragged you to more of these.”

Peter blushed a bit at the praise, but didn’t say anything.

Steve, however had words for the occasion.

“Well, you certainly surprised me. You’re stronger than you look.”

Peter shifted in his seat. It was clear the spotlight and the praise made him uncomfortable. The others seemed to catch onto this, because Clint and Sam started to tease him a bit, making him blush a bit more before he started to get combative. At one point, he had muttered about them in Spanish, not that Natasha thought he wanted anyone to know where he learned _that_ kind of Spanish. It certainly wasn’t in school. Eventually, Tony found a way to move the conversation to the YouTube videos of him, both with the Nine-Nine and in the suit.

It was Rhodes that brought up his favorite video – one where Spider-Man crashed into a pole, swung down from it like it was intentional, and proceeded to trip. “I gotta say, kid. Your fighting’s good, but you’re gonna want to work on your agility.”

“Yeah, yeah, old man.” Peter smirked. There was a comfort in his posture. Good, Natasha could worry a little less about him.

Rhodes rolled his eyes, turning his focus back to Tony and Pepper. The three of them fell into conversation with Happy, leaving Rogers, Clint, Wilson, and Peter in their own conversation. Natasha had put her own two cents in occasionally, but she was finding it more relaxing just to watch the others.

Vision and Wanda hadn’t come down for dinner, but there was nothing new there. Wanda was working online towards a diploma, her education having been interrupted when her brother and her had volunteered to be experiments, and Vision had no need for food. Natasha would make sure to stop in and talk to Wanda, but she didn’t stress herself over it.

“I’m sure you tried your best.” Steve was talking to Sam about a maneuver he hadn’t been able to do on a mission two weeks prior.

“’I’m sure you tried your best’, name of your sex tape.” Peter hadn’t even been paying attention all that much, talking to Clint about something strange and dorky, their specialty. He had interrupted what he was saying, making the joke off-hand, and suddenly the table was silent.

“Kid, please tell me I heard you right.” Clint was doing his best not to laugh, but everyone at the table could tell he wasn’t going to be successful.

Peter, for his part, looked mortified. “Oh my god, I’m going to kill Jake.”

“Care to explain what Peralta has to do with this?” Tony had a smirk on his own face.

“It’s…” Peter shook his head. “He’s been making that joke for years. I guess I picked it up.”

Clint’s face lit up. “So I did hear you right.” He slapped a hand on Peter’s back, cackling. “Kid, that’s the best thing I’ve heard in a while. Thanks for that.”

Steve didn’t seem amused. “You really shouldn’t be joking like that, Peter. It’s crude, and you’re too young to be thinking like that.”

Peter began to look at Steve like he was insane. “Have you ever met a teenager? Hell, _were_ you ever a teenager? Or did they just like, stem-cell grow you to a full-grown adult? Because that’s pretty tame compared to things I just hear at _school_.”

Sam decided to hop on the train of teasing Steve’s age. “Maybe it’s just that his generation had dignity.”

It sounded serious, but there was something in the way it rose up at the end that made it clear – he was in no way being serious, and instead found the entire situation humorous.

“Maybe that is it, Sam.” Steve nodded, the smirk on his face saying he was playing along. He was going to laugh at himself in this, if only because Peter was coming a bit more out of his shell.

“I mean, you aren’t wrong.” Peter took a bite of his food. “I know a kid at school that would sell his soul just to –“

His phone rang out, clearly a personalized ringtone, because he blushed, muttered about taking it, and walked out of the room, speaking quickly in Spanish to the person on the other line. He was gone about five minutes, during which the conversation had moved back into play. He raced through the kitchen/dining room area, grabbing his bag and coat.

“I’m sorry, Mister Stark, I gotta go.”

“What’s up, kid?”

He shook his head. “Work emergency. Rosa didn’t have anything else for me.”

And it was clear, as the kid raced out, that wasn’t the whole truth. Tony followed hot on his heels with a muttered word about giving him a ride, and Natasha didn’t allow her to hesitate.

She wanted to meet his co-workers anyway, and now was as good a time as any, so Natasha followed them out, giving no excuse. Clint gave her a small salute and a muttered, Russian, “If shit hits the fan, give ‘em hell.”

*

Peralta had called Rosa around nine. She had just gotten home, having had errands to run after work. She had been ready to skin him alive until he said the magic words.

“Peter’s in danger.”

So she had gotten him down to her apartment, made him brief her on his intel (even if she resented it coming from _Doug Judy_ of all people) and then sat him down to make him calm down. After calling Peter and telling him to haul ass to her apartment, she turned to Jake, already planning.

“We make sure May and Ben are safe, put them in protective custody. If that fails, we send them abroad.” Rosa stared Jake down. “We have him rotate at random who he stays with.”

“Why can’t we put him in Witsec?”

“Because he’s Spider-Man, and if he goes missing right before the Accords go through, we’ll have a legal mess to untangle. The Secretary of State is in on these Accords, and he isn’t friendly to enhanced people. Peter needs to be here so we can get him into the local system the second the laws pass. If we have him filed under a protected listing in the precinct, we can keep his identity secret, at least until he turns 18.

“If he’s gone, though, Ross gets permission to hunt him down, detain him until he has a comprehensive list of Peter’s powers and weaknesses. We might not even know what he can do, but we haven’t pushed him to extremes because we care about him. They won’t be so nice.”

“Wow, that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak. And you admitted you cared about someone!”

“It felt weak. We will never speak of this again.”

The front door unlocked, and Peter came running in, Stark and a lovely redhead behind him. It took Rosa a minute to place the redhead as Natasha Romanoff.

“You said it was urgent.”

“Peralta has reason to believe you’re in danger. I might not like the source, but I agree.”

“What?”

Jake leaned forward. “Remember that guy you stopped? The one that had cornered Ben in an alley?”

Peter nodded, looking more and more concerned. “Yeah. Ben started freaking out after that, and got really protective, why?”

Rosa pushed him into a chair. The kid was starting to look pale. “He was a violent offender that went underground two years ago. He resurfaced, and at first we didn’t think it was anything new.”

Jake looked to the side before meeting Peter’s eyes. “I have an informant, though, that has reason to believe he’s coming after you. And he wants something that’ll do the damage he couldn’t.”

Stark strode up behind Peter. “What do you mean ‘the damage he couldn’t’?”

“He shot me.” Peter wasn’t looking at anyone. “He didn’t hit anything vital, and I got to Rosa pretty quick, so I was fine and healed a few days later. It was the first time a bullet actually hit, didn’t just graze…”

Rosa went to the kitchen, pulling out a mug and starting on some tea. While Jake played stupid music, she opted for something a bit more standard.

“I don’t like that you said ‘first time’. Just how many times have you been shot?”

Rosa kept an extensive record of Peter’s injuries, just in case they ever needed to go to someone with more expertise. Peter, however, didn’t know this and just shrugged. “I dunno.”

“That’s something people usually remember, kid.”

Peter ignored him, looking at Jake. Something he had picked up over the months as Spider-Man was compartmentalizing.

Rosa knew it was her crutch, and she hated that Peter was picking it up, but she wasn’t going to stop him. It kept him on his feet longer, something that could save his life. Like now.

“What are we going to do?” He blinked as Rosa handed over the mug. “May and Ben could be in danger. Especially if he’s mad about that night. He might go looking for Ben for information.”

“We were thinking Witsec. If that doesn’t work, Rosa’s thinking we send them to one of her bolt-holes.”

“I never said that.”

 Peter shook his head. “You expect us to believe you don’t have them?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“I learned from the best.” Peter looked back at Jake. Rosa gestured for the other two to take a seat. “I can find somewhere to hide out. There are a couple abandoned buildings between Brooklyn and Queens I can hide in.”

“Absolutely not.” Tony was shaking his head, gesturing at Peter. “If it’s security we’re worried about, you’ll stay with me.”

“I can’t do that, Mister Stark.” Peter threw his legs over the arm of the chair Rosa had put him in, keeping the mug between his hands. “If I stay in one place too long, I’ll be a liability. If I stay in one place, I get into a routine and I’m easier to find.”

It wasn’t lost on Rosa that Natasha seemed impressed he was thinking that far ahead. “Good, you have been paying attention.”

The approving side-eye she got from Natasha started to clue her in to why Amy was always trying to get the Captain’s approval. It felt pretty good.

“Of course I’ve been paying attention. You literally threatened to hang my intestines from the ceiling if I didn’t.”

“That was one time.”

“You threatened to shoot Boyle in the stomach once.”

“He had it coming.”

 Peter shrugged. “Either way. I would need a place to wash clothes. I have some cash saved up from work that I can use for food. I can throw Ned off my trail for a while, but he’ll get suspicious.”

Natasha held a hand up, grabbing the attention of the others in the room.

“Your aunt and uncle can stay at the compound for their safety. It’s secluded, and even if we haven’t moved in yet, there’s still enough security to protect them. You should stay with someone you trust. I would recommend Stark, given the security at the tower. However, if it’s one of these two, then we can up the security on their apartment to make sure you’re safe.

“Ultimately, though, these kinds of people don’t back off. You will come face-to-face at some point, an eventuality we will be stepping up your training to deal with.”

Rosa nodded. “I can support this plan. I have plenty of weapons here in case someone tries to get you while you’re at home.”

“What about school? I can’t put everyone there in danger…”

Tony scoffed. “Easy, kid. We get permission from your principle to have Wanda tail you. She’ll be thrilled to be in a normal high school.”

“Isn’t she like, twenty?”

“She can look younger.” Natasha dismissed his concerns. “She’s got several spies that work and live with her. That’s not a concern.”

Peter nodded. “Alright.” He kept nodding. “Cool, cool, cool, cool, coo-“

Rosa threw a hand at his temple, glaring at Jake. “You did this, Peralta.”

“Hey, he said he learned from the best!”

“I meant Gina.” Peter shrugged at the betrayed look on Jake’s face.

“Traitor!”

Once the conversation reoriented towards other safety concerns, the rest of the evening was absorbed. Arrangements would be made in the morning, and Peter would be gathering things to keep at Rosa’s until they were sure he was safe.

Rosa found a piece of paper on her counter the next morning with a phone number written in squared, neat handwriting, a small note underneath it.

_You trained him well. Let’s talk. -N._


	20. Parental

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint gets a lead of sorts, and May and Ben can't turn off their instinct to be parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter again, but I've gotta be up stupid early tomorrow. Love you all, thank you for reading and commenting and everything!!! 
> 
> My tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Peter moved in with Rosa two days later, and May and Ben begrudgingly moved into the Compound. The move meant he was getting up at an even stupider hour in the morning, and his curfew for patrol was brought back an hour to make up for it.

“You’re going to start getting up another hour earlier, kid.” Rosa dropped an omelet in front of him, starting the conversation in Spanish, something she had started doing more often now that he was staying with her. “Your evening trainings with Natasha are being supplemented by morning trainings with me.”

“Oh, so she’s just _Natasha_ now, is she?”

“Can it.” She meant to sound threatening, but she was biting back the edges of a dopey grin, and it made it hard for Peter to take her implied threat seriously.

Peter laughed, a full laugh that had him leaning on the table. Rosa could be intimidating, but she seemed happy, so Peter was happy for her.

“I have decathalon practice tonight, then I was going to study with Ned. I promised him. Wanda’s gotta leave right after school, though.”

“No patrolling tonight, then. And text me when you’re ready to leave Ned’s, and I’ll pick you up. I want you on the streets as little as possible until we catch this guy.”

“How do we even know where to look?”

Rosa guided him to her motorcycle, gesturing for him to get on the back. “Peter, we have the information from two years ago, and we have the statements and evidence from his most recent crimes. We’ll catch him, and if the Nine-Nine has anything to say about it, you won’t ever have to fight him.”

“Nat seems to think different.”

“She’s probably right.” Rosa shrugged from her position on the front, putting the key in to start it. She ended the conversation with a brusque, “We want to avoid that if we can.”

*

School with Wanda was interesting. Natasha had been right, they had managed to make her look quite  a bit younger. Wanda enjoyed the classes well enough, and Principal Morita had set up a schedule for the two of them that changed Peter’s study hall with Ned and MJ to a tutoring block with Wanda as a precaution. Given the two had started spending more time together, however, they often spent the block hanging out instead of actually working. Even if they did homework, they spent more of their time chilling and talking.

They hadn’t told anyone but the principal, who had to sign multiple forms regarding protecting her identity and the security operation they were running, about who Wanda actually was. She used the same first name to make it easy, but she worked hard to mask her accent at least a little, and compared to other Avengers, she made limited public appearances. They had done a pretty good job keeping it quiet, and the make-up she did to look younger and the fact she had started braiding her hair back different ways each day disguised her even further.

Wanda had all of his classes with him, something that made for an interesting day. Ned liked her well enough, and she walked with them when they went back to his place.

“Peter, why is it you refuse to let me confront this Flash Thompson?”

“Because I can handle it.” Peter shrugged. “Some people just suck, and that’s not my problem.”

“It is when he makes fun of you every day.”

Wanda tapped her pen against her notebook as she read through her homework problem again. Peter glowered at his own homework.

“Seriously, Wanda. If it becomes too much more of an issue, I’ll deal with it. Right now, it’s just the same name-calling and light shoving he’s been doing since freshman year.”

“It’s still not right.”

“I never said it was.” Peter glanced up at her, meeting her eyes. “I just said I have it handled.”

Wanda went back to her homework without a word.

*

Weekends quickly became Peter’s favorite time. He went with Mister Stark to the Compound and got to spend time with May and Ben. Happy had been spending more time there, if only so the two of them had some form of human contact outside of work.

The commute was ridiculously long, but given the circumstances, their bosses had been willing to let them work a modified shift that had them starting later. Peter felt bad – it was because of him that they were even stuck in that situation.

They refused to let him dwell on it, though. They made him (and Mister Stark when he was there, though he always put up the façade of a fight) play board games or watch movies with them, or just sit and talk like they would at home. Ben had gone into the library, something Peter hadn’t expected the Compound to have, and had pulled out a few books he recommended to Peter.

“I think you’d like this one.” It was a sci-fi book, and an older one by the looks of it.

“It looks really cool! Kevin’s got me reading _A Tale of Two Cities_ , though, and it’s taking me forever to get through.”

“That’s a good book.” May had put together a small vegetable tray for the group of them, and Tony had taken full advantage, popping a carrot in his mouth as he spoke. “I had to read it at MIT.”

“Yeah. I really like it, it’s just long.” Peter shrugged. “Kevin’s got some really cool headcanons about it, and he has some interesting analyses.”

“Headcanon?” Tony’s face twisted. “I’ve heard that. That’s something you think is or should be true in a book, yeah?”

“Something like that.”

“Please tell me Doctor Straight-Laced-Classicist calls them headcanons.” Tony almost looked like he was pleading. Almost. “Please!”

Peter smirked. “He’ll deny it if you ever ask him, but he started to use it when we were talking because of how often I was using it.”

“Oh my god, kid, that’s the best thing I’ve heard all week.”

Tony, Holt, and Kevin hadn’t been argumentative with one another, but they certainly hadn’t gotten along. Tony was, in Kevin’s words, “a more functional version of Detective Peralta”, something which Tony had taken mild offense to. Tony had made very Jake-like jokes about the two of them being AI, which neither of them particularly enjoyed.

“You know, if you didn’t cop the attitude like Jake they probably would have liked you just fine.”

May shook her head. “Doubtful. He was infamous at one point for his bad behavior.” And didn’t that sting Tony just a tiny bit, having the aunt talk about it like he was a misbehaving child? Kind of sweet, but it still stung. “Holt and Kevin are cautious people, and they are too worried about you not to be on guard when they know how much time you spend around Tony.”

“I can’t deny the bad behavior, but does everyone forget I’ve changed?”

Peter shrugged. “I don’t.”

“You don’t count, kid, because you never really questioned it.”

May and Ben shared a look before turning to Tony. “We don’t doubt you’ve changed.” Ben led the charge on this one. “We were hesitant to let Peter around you so much at first, yes, but we tend to be with Peter. Holt and Kevin are the same way.”

“When it comes to you changing, though, the proof is in the pudding.” May leaned forward, grabbing a piece of celery. “You’ve done a lot of good, and we have a lot of respect for that. Peter’s our kid, though, and we have to be careful. Parenting is trying to give your kid the best possible chances in life and hoping they turn out okay. There aren’t any guarantees, and you never know when you might mess it up.”

Tony glanced over at Peter before looking at May and Ben. He was a good kid. He was more than glad to be passing on knowledge to the kid, to be mentoring him and helping him find his way. “I think the two of you did a damn fine job.”

“Language, mister.” Ben pointed at him, almost like his own father should have. “He’s still under eighteen, and we’ve gone this long without him swearing.”

“Oh! Is that the impression you have of him!” Tony’s eyes glinted. “Because I will gladly prove that one wrong.”

*

Clint walked down the alley, looking for anything to clue him into the location of the man trying to track down Peter. He had attacked a woman in this alley just hours ago, but he was pretty good. He hadn’t left anything traceable behind, and all Clint could go off of was what the location itself could tell him.

It was in a rougher part of Queens, an area Peter spent a lot of time patrolling. It was dirty, there were stray cats all over the place, and there were no cameras or lights.

No cameras or lights…

If the man was hiding in alleys that were hard to get visuals in, it could mean he had something visible that made him stand out. A scar, a piercing, a tattoo. It wasn’t much, but it could be a start. Clint started pacing the area, seeing if he could find anything else noteworthy.

There wasn’t anything that night, but he reported his suspicions to Natasha, who put it in their growing file. While it was originally just about the Queens arms dealer Peter was not-so-subtly tracking, they had expanded it. Now it was merely labeled “THREATS”,  an unspoken, mutual agreement to assume some of the things they knew Peter would go after, even though he wasn’t ready for them.

The things he did for that damn kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah. May and Ben, after getting to know Tony, totally went "Yeah, you're one of ours now." They aren't necessarily parents for Tony so much as guidance figures for Tony right now as he navigates being a teenager's mentor/kinda-sorta father figure of sorts because Peter just adopts people as family members at this point. They've still basically decided he's an honorary Parker, though.


	21. Initial Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's left shaken after patrol one night, when things start to ramp up, and when he has to finally face some of the less glamorous realities of being a superhero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Thank you to the commenters too! 
> 
> Come chat on tumblr:  
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

May and Ben flinched in the car as they watched Spider-Man swing by them, throwing a kick into someone that was running off. Once he was down, Ben, from the passenger seat, watched as he webbed him up, called the cops, and went out to continue his superhero-ing.

“I know he loves it, but every time I see a video of him or see him in action I almost have a heart attack.”

“I know what you mean.” May muttered curses at another driver under her breath. “I try to avoid seeing footage of him if I can. I had to stop watching the morning news show I like because they started covering him more.”

“It’ll pass.” Ben sighed. “I hope.”

“The best we can do is be there for him.”

Ben shook his head. “Except we aren’t even doing that, since we’ve had to move upstate. He’s in danger because we let him do this. What does that say about us as parents?”

May didn’t respond right away. When Ben glanced over, he saw her glaring at the road, the way she did when she was angry at herself. “We knew the risks and we let him get involved in this. I don’t know what that says about us, but I know that sometimes I wish I could turn back time and tell him not to do this. Tell Ray and Jake that we don’t approve and we don’t support this.”

“He might have done it behind our back.”

May didn’t like people to see her cry. After Richard and Mary, she had hardened herself as much as she had to so that Peter and Ben had someone to be their rock through the grieving process. Maybe that’s why Ben didn’t look, and merely put his hand on her shoulder when she choked on a sob. “He could get hurt. He could _die_.”

“So could Jake, or Rosa, or Raymond.” Ben felt his own chest getting tight. “We could die travelling upstate. Our kid just decided to up his chances.”

“Agent Romanoff was fairly convinced he would have to face this guy. He’s trying to find weapons that would do damage, and Peter…” May pulled off to the side of the highway. She pulled the lever at the side of her seat, sending it back so she could put her head between her knees. “He’s… he’s…”

Ben rubbed her shoulder. This was a familiar battle they had both been fighting since Peter had brought two Avengers into their home and said someone was after him. They had, on a lesser scale, dealt with intense bouts of worrying over Peter, whether it was because he was out late and missed curfew, or he had come home with a particularly bad injury. But it had escalated the longer they lived apart from him, into the two of them having panic attacks or nightmares.

It had to be the worst feeling in the world, Ben figured, being a parent and being unable to protect your child from danger.

*

MJ and Ned definitely found the addition of Wanda to their circle odd. She wasn’t one to force herself into activities she didn’t like for the benefit of others, and since the Ultron fiasco, she had begun to work on both her backlog of mistakes and her own problems. She had told Peter about the therapist Tony had hired to help her recognize why she was attracted into working with HYDRA and then to Ultron in the first place.

She had read several of the books MJ carried with her, leading to spirited debates. It was, ultimately, what cemented Peter (and then Ned’s) friendship with MJ, as Peter started reading MJ’s books as well to contribute, and Ned liked to ask questions even if the books weren’t his favorite topics.

“I’m just saying, the argument ignores key facts in place of maintaining a Western bias.”

MJ’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean ‘Western bias’? Because you’re European, meaning that bias would include you.”

“Ah, no.” Wanda shook her head. “I’m Eastern European. Sokovian, specifically. When I say ‘Western bias’, I mean developed Europe, and America. Much of the world cannot be analyzed through the lens that that handful of countries can.”

 MJ held Wanda’s gaze a moment, considering what she had said. “Tell me more about Sokovia. What was it like?”

“The scars of the Soviet bloc are still there.” Wanda’s face was a bit grim, and Peter felt terrible she was in a position she had to relive anything she’d rather not. “I think there is something to be said for a country that perseveres, though. The men of Sokovia are strong, and the women are tough enough to cut glass without blinking. You have to be.

“Most of all, people, as jaded as some are, were kind. Maybe it’s because I left when I was younger, but I remember that within your neighborhood, even in the city, you knew a few of your neighbors, and the shopkeepers were willing to give you a break if they knew you couldn’t afford the food that day. We were all struggling. We all wanted to make it a little easier.”

MJ nodded. “Sounds interesting.”

Wanda didn’t respond.

*

“I’m sorry about lunch.”

“Why are you sorry?” Wanda looked up from her textbook. “You couldn’t have known she would ask that.”

“But it’s my fault you’re here, meaning it’s my fault you’re hanging out with my friends, meaning it’s my fault you had to talk about something that sensitive.”

“Peter, if I hadn’t wanted to answer the question I wouldn’t have.” Wanda grimaced. “I need to remember Sokovia as much as I need to let go of everything that happened there. It was my home, it is my birthplace.”

“Still… I’m sorry.”

“If you’re going to apologize, apologize for not warning me about the terrible cafeteria food. How do you eat that every day without feeling sick?”

“Practice. Do it long enough and you learn how to chow down without tasting anything.”

“Seems like it would be bad for your health.”

“How long have you lived in America again?”

“Almost two years.”

“Everything here is unhealthy, I thought you would have noticed.”

“I cook most of my food when I’m not eating with the others.” Wanda sighed. The two were in an old computer lab for their tutoring block. “A lot of family recipes.”

“That sounds cool. What kind of stuff?”

Wanda smiled before she started to describe some of the dishes to Peter. They all sounded pretty good, and he could tell which ones were Wanda’s favorites. Her smile became a little less tight, her eyes a little more animated, and her body a little more relaxed.

So he let her talk about that, pushing his homework to the side so he could give her his full attention. He could finish it later, after patrol.

*

Patrol was an easy one that night. Very few people were out to commit crime, giving Peter time to look for whoever it was that was a) selling high-end weapons and b) look for whoever was after him.

The first was easier said than done.

The second ended with him pinned against a wall as a man with a thick braiding of scar tissue down his cheek pushed a knife to his throat.

“You stopped me, you know that?” He smirked. “I was able to get away with that shit because I was painfully average, but you shoved me into a dumpster to save that pathetic old man, and the metal ripped open my face.

“What if I did the same to yours?”

*

Tony tensed when the alarm for Peter’s suit went off. Something was triggering not just the Baby Monitor protocols, but a potential override of said protocols.

The only thing he had allowed for in the programming to override the Baby Monitor protocol was if there was a clear, imminent, unavoidable danger in the immediate vicinity of Peter. He pulled up the feed, glancing through it before he took off in one of his suits. He wouldn’t get there until after Peter and the man had fought, until after Peter had left. According to FRIDAY, by the time he got there, Peter was already almost to Detective Diaz’s apartment.

That didn’t stop the worry Tony felt for the kid. He had FRIDAY pull all the information she could from the surrounding area and from the footage on Peter’s suit, forwarding it to Clint and Natasha. He would be damned if this happened again.

*

“Son of a bitch!”

Peter dodged the knife this time. He was quicker, faster.

He had Clint’s training backing him up. He threw a hard and fast kick into the man’s abdomen. It didn’t damage much, but it did make him back up a bit, giving Peter the room to charge with his own barrage of attacks.

A punch to the face, ducking the knife. Grabbing that arm, controlling at the elbow. He ducked the hand that came towards his mask, opting instead to throw his elbow into the man’s collar bone, and then into his nose. The man began reaching to protect his face, giving Peter the space to grab his shoulder and drive his knee into the man’s stomach. Repeatedly.

When he felt the knife arm almost break free, he tightened his grip. He switched the grip of his free hand to the other shoulder, driving his own to meet the man’s body. From there, he threw his foot behind the man’s inner leg, driving his hip into the side and throwing the man down to the ground. He didn’t let go of the arm, even as the man pulled and strained against him.

He should have paid more attention, though, because the man changed tactics. He sat up a bit, grabbing Peter by the leg. He didn’t get much in the way of fabric, but he had hooked his arm behind Peter’s knee, giving him leverage. Soon, Peter was below the man, on the ground.

“You know, I would love to take you out now.” The man leered at Peter, and despite the mask and the suit, there was a strong urge to recoil. The knife traced itself along his jaw as the man continued to speak. “It would be the best thing to happen to me in a while.

“Unfortunately for you, a dear friend of mine has plans, and he needs you to test them on. Almost makes me wish I hadn’t approached him.” He shrugged. “But what can you do? How was I supposed to know you would be dropped into my lap one night?”

The man stood up, throwing the knife down in a rage. “I’ll come back for you. Knife wounds won’t keep you down long anyway.

“I look forward to meeting you again.”

*

Peter was shaken. He had walked most of the way to Rosa’s after that encounter, and he felt it hit him.

He had enemies. He had made enemies, likely of a lot of people. He had put himself in extreme danger tonight just by being out on patrol. He had caused people to upend their lives. Rosa hated people, and yet she had turned her office space into a room for him. May and Ben weren’t even living in their own house. Jake was hovering over him. Wanda was attending high school.

He loved a lot of what came with being a superhero. He loved the alter-ego and the excitement that came with it. He loved the fact that people were happy to see him when he was swinging around on the streets. He loved that there were people on the internet that put time into thanking him, and he loved the conspiracy theories surrounding him. But, he could feel the despair and loneliness creeping up on him. He had been able to ignore it in the beginning. After all, he had people in his corner.

But he was alone now. May and Ben, the two people he knew were in his corner, even if he didn’t go to them often because he didn’t want to worry them, were hours away.

He sank against Rosa’s front door. It was a testament to how much she cared that she made noise as she approached him. “Come on.”

She didn’t say much to him that night. She asked him what happened, took the information she needed, and then pulled him from the table to his bed, laying him down before sitting next to him. She began running her fingers through his hair to calm him down, roughly at first, and then a bit more gently.

“I’m not as good at this comfort thing as Jake, but I want you to know I’m here.” She swallowed, almost as though the vulnerability of the moment made her want to choke. The idea of it made Peter want to laugh. “Sometimes you don’t want empathy and concern. You just want an ear and something to do. I’m good at that.”

Peter nodded. When the hand returned to his head, he felt his eyes grow heavy.

“That’s it, kid. Just let yourself rest.” Rosa’s voice was soft. He started to drift off. His last thought came as he heard another voice, Natasha’s voice, whispering from the hallway.

“How is he?”

How hadn’t he noticed she was here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, there will be more lighthearted stuff to come in the future! For now, though, let's have some action!!


	22. Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's problems aren't just going to go away, so instead Natasha wants to make sure he's more prepared than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have some cute Rosa/Nat stuff to scream about below in the end note, but until then:  
> Thank you thank you thank you for reading. Seriously, it's so motivating knowing people are enjoying this. I have one or two more stories that might be in the works soon, but I think I'm going to wait on those until I have a good portion of them written or this one finishes up. Whichever comes first. 
> 
> Come talk on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

The second he woke up the next day, Natasha dragged him to Rosa’s kitchen and sat him down at the table.

“You’re not going to school today. You are going to tell me what happened last night, we are going to train, and you and I are going to spend the afternoon working on the man that’s trailing you.”

“What about school? I’m supposed to meet Wanda there.”

“She’s going to go today to maintain her cover. You’re going to stay with me.”

Rosa came in wearing a black shirt that wasn’t quite her size over a pair of sweatpants that were just a tad too short. “I’m telling the Captain you’re not coming in for your shift today. He’ll understand.”

“What about,” Peter flinched when Natasha cut him off.

“What about nothing. We’re working on this as much as we can today. You’ll return to school tomorrow, hopefully with more information than you left yesterday with.”

“That wouldn’t be hard, since I’ve already got some.”

“What is it?”

He might not have wanted to tell Jake or Mister Stark, but he knew when someone wasn’t playing games. He had learned at least that much from his time stopping criminals, and everything about Natasha’s posture (and background. He hadn’t read _all_ of the leaked SHIELD files, but he had read enough) told him that she was going to get what she was after whether he wanted to give it up or not.

“He’s good. He trained some kind of ground fighting – he took me down after I threw him. He’s working with someone else, too.” Peter shrugged. “That’s nothing new, but he said this guy was working on something he wanted to try and I was supposed to be the guinea pig for it.

“From the way he was talking, I don’t have much confidence I would come out of that particular test alive.”

Natasha cursed. “We shouldn’t have let you stay out on the street. Shirt, off. Now.”

“I didn’t get cut, I promise!”

“I’m checking anyway. Take it off.”

Rosa nodded at him. She was just as worried, then. Peter obliged them, standing and turning around so they could see he wasn’t harmed.

“It was mostly bruising that healed overnight, and I did a lot of damage on him.”

“Knees?”

“Yep.”

“Elbows?”

“Yep.”

Natasha nodded. “Those are good if you’re trying to maintain arm control. Still, you won’t get lucky enough not to get cut twice. You need to be more careful. When you’re not saving someone, stay in the air or on a roof. You’re too precious to lose.”

“Precious?”

Natasha smirked and didn’t gratify him with an answer. “Come on. You’re going to give me a full briefing at the Compound, where Clint can listen too.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

*

Rosa didn’t give Captain Holt specifics. She didn’t like thinking about someone coming after Peter, so avoiding the few details she had heard would help her maintain her sanity for the day. _One day at a time_. It’s how she got through prison, it’s how she would get through this.

“Am I to assume this training session is in relation to the threats against Mister Parker?”

“You can call him Peter, you know.”

“I will take that as a yes.”

Rosa’s grimace told Holt as much as she could have verbally. She appreciated it. “Don’t tell Jake. He’ll lose it.”

“He will want to know his younger brother’s position is increasing in danger.”

“Peter doesn’t want him to know, either.” Rosa shook her head. “He has Hawkeye and the Black Widow helping him. For now, keep this from him.”

Holt shook his head. “I will not say anything, but if he asks…”

“I’m not asking you to lie, just don’t initiate the conversation.”

Holt nodded. “Then we have reached an agreement. Now, Detective Diaz, I believe it would be best for you to get back to work. For your sake.”

Rosa nodded, walking to her desk and focusing on the first case she could reach for.

*

By the time they were finished with training, Peter was wiped. He had been at it with Natasha and Clint for hours, but where they were alternating, he was going straight through. It was almost six in the evening by the time they finished, and debriefing with Natasha and Clint had only carried him until eleven.

“Alright, spider-child,” Clint cuffed Peter’s shoulder before moving his hand to muss his hair. “Go shower. We’ll give you food and then we’re working on digging into this guy.”

Wanda joined them when she returned.

*

Tony had been busy all day working on the logistics for the Avengers’ move upstate. The unused floors in the tower were to be turned into labs focused on the medical applications of nanotechnology, but there had to be some serious renovations first, and that was set to be the next two days. When he heard people, though, he paused on his way into the common room to listen in. He didn’t like eavesdropping, but his curiosity demanded it.

“You sure he would have needed medical attention?”

“It was a pretty thick scar. I’d assume he had to get stitches for it.” There was a rustle as Peter presumably shifted how he was sitting. “Even if it wasn’t stitches, he said he got it on a dumpster. It would be dumb not to get medical attention.”

“You give yourself medical treatment. If he’s been doing this a while, then he might be prepared to treat himself in the cases where muggings go South.”

Tony walked in to see a board with features written on it and, if his guess was correct, a depressingly long list of names. There were some chips and veggies on the table between Clint, Nat, and Peter.

“He said he used his average looks to get away with the crimes. Is there any way to mark that, though? I mean, he was white, so statistically speaking he probably has brown hair and eyes.” Peter shrugged, shoving a chip in his mouth and blinking. “He wasn’t too much taller than me. He wasn’t really muscular, either.”

“You said he was trained in ground fighting.” Clint threw a chip in the air, catching it in his mouth. “That has to give us something. FRIDAY, how many people can we knock off this list with that information?”

“Fourteen people on this list have records of wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or other forms of ground-based fighting training.”

“And of those, have any been to the hospital recently for facial injuries?” Natasha’s eyes lingered on the board as the names that weren’t immediately relevant faded to a lighter shade.

“No.”

“FRIDAY,” Tony made himself known. “What about people who left the city two years ago and came back? Or people who were imprisoned?”

There was a momentary pause where the other three occupants of the room glanced at him, considering what he had offered.

“The list expands by twenty-seven names if we add these criteria to ‘average appearance for a white male’ and ‘ground fighting training’. Fifteen of these individuals left the city, three of those left the country.

“As for imprisoned individuals, eight of the twelve were for non-violent offenses.”

Tony nodded. “Let’s get to work. FRIDAY, copy the information you have on them to the StarkPads, would you?”

“Yes, sir.”

*

It ended up being close to nine when May and Ben got home, and they were pleased (if a little shocked and worried) to see Peter in the common area. He was sitting with Nat, talking quietly about something, and barely glanced up when he first heard the door. Once he knew who it was, he was rocketing towards them, grabbing the two of them in a bone crushing hug.

May cherished the moment for a brief second before pushing her nephew away, holding onto his shoulder. “What happened?”

Peter’s face faltered. “Nothing, really. Just… We’re doing some digging is all. I might have run into that guy last night.”

“That’s not nothing, Peter. I’m pretty sure that’s the exact opposite of nothing.” May shook her head before pulling him back in. “You need to be careful.”

“I know. I just want to catch this guy…” Peter’s arms became tighter. “You guys had to upend your lives because of this…

“I put you guys in danger.”

May rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything. When the two parted, it was Ben that pulled him close. “Life is dangerous, kid. I could have died walking home that night, but I didn’t because of you.

“If anything, you’re just making life a little more interesting. Now come on, I have to get started on dinner. It’s our night to cook for some of the other Avengers, and they eat a lot.”

“What?”

“You heard me kid. You’ve been drafted. Let’s get into the kitchen, alright?”

As soon as they were gone, May turned to the work they had done.

“Thank you, all of you. I don’t know what we would do about this without you.”

Natasha smiled. “He’s a smart kid. He would have found a way to deal with it.”

Clint snorted through the soda he had at his lips. “Yeah. He might have gotten himself maimed or killed doing it, but he wouldn’t have let this come around to you. Not in a million years.”

As concerning as May found the idea (even if she had known it from the start), she let herself laugh as Natasha punched Clint in the arm for the comment, joining them at the coffee table to see what they had. It might not have been much, but it felt like progress, and that was as good as anything right at that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosa/Nat stuff because it is good for my soul:  
> \- based on the height of the actresses, Rosa is four inches taller than Natasha. I find this adorable.  
> \- this height difference is also why the clothes Rosa's wearing don't quite fit her.   
> I freaking love this pairing my friends, so I hope you don't mind how much of it I'm sneaking in!
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com


	23. A More Peaceful Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On orders from Nat, Peter's letting himself rest. Jake is on to Rosa. Clint opens the door to talk about some of his concerns with his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is kind of short, but it's meant to be a bit of an interlude. 
> 
> And I've got something else I'm working on a bit that I talked about with @spiderboyneedsahug. And kudos (pun intended) to @odd_izzy for catching the implication of Rosa wearing Nat's clothes last chapter! They may not be public about their relationship yet, but they're enjoying their time with each other. 
> 
> Come chat on tumblr! putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

The next few days, Peter listened to Natasha’s last words of advice from their training day.

_“Let this fade into the background for a while. Don’t patrol for a couple of days, lay low. In a few days, Wanda will walk with you towards the subway, and the two of you will spend the afternoon patrolling.”_

So that’s what he did. He had a major decathalon competition coming up, anyway, so taking a break from Spider-Man to study was nice.

He hadn’t told his friends anything, though, so now he was left trying to do damage control as Ned asked to come over and MJ watched their conversation, her book closed onto her hand.

“I can’t tonight, Ned. Maybe some other time.”

“You’ve been saying that for like a month, Peter!” Ned’s hands ran through his hair. “What’s up with you lately, anyway? You’ve been so distant!”

“Nothing.” Peter shrugged. “Just some personal stuff.”

Ned usually wouldn’t have pushed the issue, but today he had had enough, and he was more than willing to let Peter know that.

“I want to hang out with you, man. Why won’t you let me?”

“I said we can hang out, we just can’t hang out at my place.”

“Why not?”

Peter tensed up. “It’s just… I…”

“What, Parker?” MJ gave him a look. “What is going on?”

Wanda butt into the conversation. “He’s been tutoring me after school.”

MJ’s smirk didn’t bode well. “Tutoring… Alright.”

She turned back to her book, but the implication was clear. Ned’s eyes bugged out. “You two are… You’re?”

Wanda laughed, a full laugh instead of her usual light chuckle, and tapped Peter’s arm with the back of her hand. “You get to field this one, Parker. I covered for you once already.”

“No! We’re not!” Peter felt himself heating up in embarrassment. He didn’t want Wanda to think he found her gross, but she wasn’t exactly his… type. “She’s just a friend!”

“Alright, then.” MJ’s eyebrows popped up and she gave him a look. He wasn’t living this down.

*

Jake sighed. Rosa was avoiding him; more than usual, anyway. She had said hello to him, muttered under her breath in Spanish, and then spent the rest of the day doing her work and glaring at anyone who came near her.

“You have to tell me what’s up. Why’d you even have to talk to Holt?”

“Jake, I’m going to ask you to leave this alone. As soon as I can, I’ll tell you. But until then, turn around and march back to your desk and work.”

“Rosa, first Peter, now you…” His eyes widened. “He told you to hide something didn’t he?”

“Jake…”

“Fine. I’m going to my desk, but I’ll have you know, I’m going to find out what’s going on, though!”

“I’m sure you will. Hopefully by then, I can tell you.”

Jake made his sassy head-nod he used when he was irritated. Rosa felt bad, but she had promised Peter she wouldn’t say a word, and she didn’t break promises.

*

Tony didn’t have time for this. He didn’t have time for Steve coming into the lab, asking question after question about the document he was supposed to have read.

“Look, Cap. I gave the kid a copy of this and he had it read in two weeks.” Tony shook his head. “All I’m saying is read through it, and then I’ll answer all your questions.”

“Why can’t I ask you?” There was a challenge in that question, like Steve was setting up for some ‘gotcha’ moment where he would prove that Tony didn’t know what he was talking about. Maybe it was paranoia, but either way, Tony wasn’t in the mood.

“Because I may have read them three times, but there is too much in there for me to explain it all to you if you haven’t even bothered reading the thing.” Tony threw his screwdriver down in exasperation. “Besides, the whole damn thing was written by people more qualified than I am.”

Steve didn’t seem to know how to handle the open admission of Tony being unqualified in this department, so instead he sat back, giving him a look. “More qualified? I thought you were some sort of genius.”

“That's where we have a misunderstanding, Capsicle. I may be a genius, but I didn’t go into politics. I went into science. I know the basics of how to politic, but that doesn’t mean I know all the lingo.” He pointed at the book on Steve’s lap again. “Read it, and I’ll do with you exactly what I did with Peter – I’ll walk through it with you.”

Steve still didn’t seem to like that idea. He shifted uncomfortably before he spoke again, not meeting Tony's eyes. “Tony, I have no idea what some of the stuff in this document means. It’s all in legal-speak… How am I supposed to read it if I don’t know what it means?”

“Highlight what you don’t understand. Just… get through Article 1 and I’ll help you decipher it. Okay? We can take it one step at a time.”

Steve picked up the document again. “Fine. I’ll read Article 1.”

*

Clint sat at the table of his home, watching his children play in the yard through the window.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Just some dumb kid I know.”

“You like him.”

“What?”

“You only call the people you care about dumb. Remember, you said it to me after our third date. I almost dumped you then and there, but then I saw the look on your face. ‘You’re dumb’ is the way you say ‘I love you’ before you’re ready to.”

“Sometimes I hate that you know me so well.”

“It comes with the territory, Love.”

Clint stuck his hand out, holding onto Laura’s as they watched their kids. He shook his head. “If Cooper ever says he wants to be a superhero and he’s serious about it I might shoot someone.”

“Cooper knows better. He’s seen the strain in the family, the long nights of worry…” Laura sat on Clint’s lap, pulling his head to her shoulder. “Besides, he’s really into English. I think he wants to be a teacher.”

“Perfect. Safe and normal. I like it.”

“I thought you might.” Laura laughed a bit, pushing herself back up and moving towards the kitchen. “Want to help with dinner?”

“Let me cook.”

“The last time I did that you had to remodel the kitchen because of the fire damage. Thanks, but no thanks.” She pointed to the cutting board. “You can chop some of the vegetables while I get the meat started.”

Clint grumbled about “the injustice”, but there was no heat in it, and there was even a little smile as he and Laura worked side-by-side. As he finished up, he got ready to call the kids in. He turned to her, and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Laura.”

“We haven’t even talked about it yet.”

“I know,” Clint’s eyes got a bit misty as he watched his two children running and playing. Nate was asleep upstairs. His life was good. “I know we haven’t, but you keep me sane.”

She smiled at him. “You keep yourself sane. I just make you more socially functional.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Clint shook his head again, smiling as he opened the back door. “KIDS! GET IN HERE! DINNER’S ON!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contact me on tumblr!
> 
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com


	24. Relationships are Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter struggles with maintaining his relationships with people as his work as Spider-Man starts impacting his regular life more and more frequently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it! 
> 
> I just wanted to thank all of you that read this again! I know I do it every chapter, but seriously! I love that people enjoy this. We hit over 50 comments, guys! That's so cool! 
> 
> Anyway, feel free to chat with me on tumblr! 
> 
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Jake put it together when he saw Peter over the weekend. The kid was distracted and nervous, glancing through his phone every few minutes. His lip kept twitching when his eyes started glazing. His eyes only got that look when something was bugging him, and his lip only twitched when something had happened.

So, Jake, like a mature adult, confronted it. He just wished he had done it better.

“It’s my life!”

“And you’re my brother!” Jake put his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“We have a list, now.” Peter shook his head. “Just… I didn’t want you to worry.”

Jake pulled Peter into a hug. If there was one thing that could be said for the two of them, it was that even in moments of anger and frustration they were still very tactile. They still knew to let the other know they cared, that they loved them.

It was probably one of the best relationships Jake had, and for just that reason. There was never any doubt, because there was always that reassurance. Not having the mess of romance or the strange assortment of boundaries that came with professionalism also helped, he supposed.

“You’ve been nothing but trouble since I met you. What makes you think I’m _not_ going to worry?”

“I have not!”

Jake gave him a look. “The first day I met you, you told me about how Iron Man saved you from a HammerDrone because instead of running you faced it down.”

“I was a kid! And my parents had just died! What? Did you expect me to have good decision-making skills after that?”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Even so, that’s the least dangerous thing you did before you became Spider-Man.”

“Not true. Most dangerous.”

“You once tried to get a mad dog to let you pet it because you didn’t want it put down for biting someone.”

 “It wasn’t fair! I had played with that dog before; He was sweet!”

“And he was vicious! He gave Boyle a scar on his ankle!”

It was Peter’s turn to roll his eyes. “Even so…” he shrugged. “You just got out of prison. You’re getting back into the swing of things, and this would have just been another thing to set you back.”

“It was my intel that told us you were in danger. It was me that was working this case from the moment he came back.” Jake pulled Peter over to the couch. “More importantly, it’s me that’s been making sure to have your back through every idiotic and dangerous stunt you’ve pulled since we met. Usually while rooting for you and laughing at your failure, but that’s beside the point.”

Peter chuckled at that. “I’m sorry, Jake.”

Jake shook his head. “No you’re not. Hiding things to protect people is your M.O.”

“You’re right. I’m not.”

“My only question is how did you get Rosa to agree to this?”

Peter shook his head. They had been arguing for hours, and it had taken a lot out of him. He was already starting to nod off against Jake’s shoulder. “Nope. That’s an us thing. The better question is how we kept it from Holt.”

“Even Holt knew?”

And Jake would love to be able to say he didn’t tense up. That his voice didn’t get quieter in anger. He would love to say he kept a cool head about everything, that he talked things out with the kid that meant the world to him.

But that would be a lie, because Jake Peralta, for all his strengths and faults, was a person that didn’t know how to handle the intense stress that came along with worrying about Peter’s safety. Usually he laughed it off and the two only talked about the positives of Peter being Spider-Man, but they couldn’t do that in this case. In this case, they were stuck dealing with the suckier sides of superhero life, and Jake had to face every new fear that had started to grow when he watched the videos of Spider-Man on the internet, and he had to face them without something funny to fall back on. There was nothing to fall back on, nothing to bring levity to the situation when his kid brother was being _hunted_.

“Jake…”

“No.” Jake shook his head, still keeping his arm around Peter. “No. What are you telling me?”

“I didn’t want to tell him anything, but if I lied to him about why I missed shift the other day, he would have seen right through it.”

“So you tell him, but you let me figure it out on my own?” Jake shook his head, pulling away from Peter. “Why?”

“Jake,” Peter leaned over his legs, arms tense. There was something unspoken between the two of them, and it meant Peter wasn’t reaching out for Jake and Jake was pulling away from Peter.

“Don’t answer if you aren’t ready to tell me the truth.”

Peter looked down. “I told you. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Not good enough.” Jake shook his head. He didn’t know how he was supposed to handle this. “I’m going to bed.”

*

To say Peter ‘woke up’ before Jake on Saturday would be a misnomer. More accurate was to say that Peter hadn’t slept at all, and maybe that’s why he decided he might as well patrol. If his bookbag found its way to Jake’s roof, webbed to the ground? That was no one’s business but his own.

He didn’t take Jake or Rosa’s calls, only had the AI send them confirmations he was safe via text. He didn’t even blink when he told Karen to field the most recent incoming call until it forced its way through.

“Alright, Underoos, care to explain why I have an angry Peralta at my door?”

“I figured he’d still be asleep.”

“Most sane people are at eight in the morning, but then again, most sane people don’t have a masked vigilante that likes to disappear after fights.”

“I didn’t disappear. I went patrolling.”

“And you took your bag.” The small image of Tony in the corner of his HUD screen was shaking its head. “Look, kid, Peralta’s just looking out for you.”

“Then why doesn’t he understand when I do the same for him?”

“Because it’s not your job to look out for him!” Tony didn’t snap, necessarily, but his tone was curt. It left no room for argument. “You’re a kid. Peralta’s an adult. Just like when you’re working with me or talking to May and Ben, it’s our job to have your interests in mind, not yours to have ours.”

“But I can help now.” Peter jerked to the side as he heard a scuffle down an alleyway. “I have a responsibility to help. Especially the people I care about.”

“Kid, come back to the tower.” Tony was pushing someone off to the side, but Peter didn’t have time to look at who it was as he slipped between the two men fighting. “We need to have a serious discussion about where the border between responsibility and reckless behavior, because the last few weeks have been concerning.”

Tony sounded like he wanted to continue, but he stopped when he heard a loud thud from Peter’s end of the conversation.

The talk had distracted him long enough to get shoved on a wall.

“What are you doing poking your nose around here?”

The man was older, but strong. Peter pushed his arm at the joint, first in towards his body so it would lock and hurt, then quickly outward so it bent. He threw his palm into the man’s face.

“Are you in the middle of a fight? What the hell are you doing talking to me in the middle of a fight?”

“Well you kinda called!”

“Kid!” Tony grunted on the other side of the call, but Peter had stopped paying attention to the little image. “Finish that up then get over here.”

“Yes, sir.”

*

When Peter walked into the tower, it was with a slight limp he had acquired when the older man’s opponent decided to get involved and had kicked at Peter’s kneecap while he was occupied until the knee went back hard enough to cause him to stumble. He hadn’t been able to walk right on it since.

“First of all, patrol is supposed to happen with a few nights between, and I know for a fact you went out last night.” Tony pointed at the suit. “Go get changed. I’m pretty sure you left some clothes over here after the last time we had a lab binge.”

Peter nodded. When he got to his room, he saw two missed calls from Ned and a couple of texts. His suit was programmed to filter out calls from people that weren’t in the know about Spider-Man, both for his own protection and to keep him on task when he was in the suit. Tony was always telling him he needed to have a healthy boundary between professional and personal, and between his normal life and Spider-Man. _“The suit shouldn’t make you who you are. The suit doesn’t make the man, the man makes the suit.”_

He kind of understood it after a while – when he was on his own he was so enamored with being Spider-Man it had encompassed much of his character, even if he hadn’t told anyone outside of his relatives and the squad. Now, though, with a growing bank of experience and people helping him learn the industry, he found that he didn’t want to be Spider-Man so much as he wanted Spider-Man to be part of who he was as Peter Parker. He wasn’t just Spider-Man. He was a kid, he was a student, and he was a friend.

A bad friend, evidently, because one of his closest friendships was falling apart and he didn’t know how to stop it, and now his relationship with his brother was suffering, but he would figure that out. He would have to figure it all out.

Maybe Nat or Clint had some tips for managing all of this… Until he had a chance to ask them, though, he would go with his gut.

So, he pulled up his messages and shot off a quick text.

_I’m so sorry man. I’m a bit busy rn, but maybe we can hang tomorrow?_

He didn’t get a response.


	25. Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School isn't going well for Peter. Steve is starting to see why Tony is pushing the Accords. Jake hears some hard truths from Holt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say tonight that I didn't say before! Thank you all for reading, liking, commenting, etc.! 
> 
> Come say hi:
> 
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Peter put more effort into his relationship with Ned as his relationship with Jake started to ice over. It might have been immature, it might have been the closest he had ever come to running from his problems, but he knew when to back off. He knew Jake, and talking right now might just make things worse. But, even with Ned, it seemed that it was too little too late.

So, instead of sitting and meeting Ned at their usual spot, Peter took the hint. Ned hadn’t gotten to the cafeteria, and Peter let that be the motivation he needed. He found a different corner to sit in, away from any groups of people, and put his headphones in. He was hungry, but had left his wallet at Rosa’s, meaning he had no money for lunch. As such, he was just going to work through lunch and pretend everything was fine.

Everything was fine. That probably took the cake for the least convincing lie he had ever told himself, right ahead of ‘Mommy and Daddy are fine, they just need help.’

Peter sighed, rushing a hand through his hair and pulling at it as he glared at his homework. He could barely focus, but if he did it now then maybe he could still patrol tonight. Or just try and find that guy again. Tony had joined Clint and Natasha in digging up dirt on the people on the list. It had been narrowed down over the last two weeks to about ten names, but that was still too many.

Someone sat across from him, but he opted to ignore it in favor of planting his face in his book. Maybe this would have been easier if he had food to eat, given he was starving, but today had just decided to push him down and grind his face in the dirt.

Someone tapped his earbud. He looked up to see Wanda and Ned.

“You can talk to us if something is wrong, you know that.” Wanda looked down in front of him. “And why aren’t you eating?”

“Forgot my wallet.” Peter shook his head. “Not a big deal.”

The company kind of helped, but he still couldn’t focus on his homework like normal.

“Come on, Peter. Talk to us.”

Peter looked up, shutting his book with more force than was probably necessary. “What’s to talk about?” He shook his head. “I can’t even talk about half of what’s going on, and my life is falling apart around me, and I can’t do anything to stop it! By the time I even have a chance to fix things, they all seem to be too damaged to do anything about.”

Peter shook his head. Flash was walking toward them, and while he felt bad for throwing his friend under the bus, he couldn’t deal with this. Not today. He threw his stuff in his bag and stood up. “I’m going to the library.”

*

Ned felt bad about giving Peter the cold shoulder, but he was hurt. Peter didn’t just ignore people like that, he didn’t just act like friendships were a given and he was entitled to them. Not the Peter he knew. He had tried to give some latitude at first, having seen how exhausted Peter was, how he had bruises that were healing (that were gone too quick to be natural, not that Ned commented on it). He had assumed Peter would come to him eventually.

The new girl, Wanda, followed Peter without a word. It wasn’t for another couple seconds that Ned followed her out. Even if he hadn’t seen Flash, he knew when he needed to swallow their issues and talk to Peter. He looked around the library for a minute, looking for Peter and Wanda, only to stop when he heard them talking.

“You could tell him.” There was something odd about Wanda’s voice, but he hadn’t heard enough to place it.

“And how am I supposed to do that? It’s not like he’d believe me, anyway.” He heard Peter sigh. He could also hear the slightest bit of hitched breaths, like Peter did when he was doing his best not to cry. “Besides, as long as this guy is after me I can’t risk Ned getting caught in the crossfire. May and Ben being gone is bad enough.”

Something had happened to May and Ben? Peter was in danger? Why hadn’t he said anything? Ned would have gladly done anything to help him, even back off if that’s what he needed.

“You’ve got enough on your plate. You have your patrols as Spider-Man, your work with Stark, your work, and your school.” He heard a shift of fabric. There it was, in her voice. She had an accent, yeah, but it was slightly thicker. Like she had been covering it and was speaking freely for the first time “You don’t need to add relationship troubles to this.”

“Is it relationship troubles, though?” Peter’s voice pitched up the way it did when he was nervous. “I mean, me and Ned aren’t dating.”

“It’s a relationship that has trouble.” Another shift of fabric. “I think it qualifies whether it’s romantic or not.”

Ned didn’t know how to process the information he had just heard. He supposed it would be best to start with what he had already known – Peter worked a job in Brooklyn. Working from there, he supposed there was a chance Peter had a crush on him, based on the last bit.

But the stuff about Spider-Man? About ‘Stark’, which had to mean Tony Stark in that context? He had no clue what to make of that. So instead, he walked past the last set of shelves blocking him from Peter and Wanda. “You’re Spider-Man?”

And saying it out loud, that helped. A lot of things started falling into place. He continued before Peter could say anything more. “So much makes sense now! That’s why you haven’t been able to hang out as much! Oh, man! I’m so sorry I was such a jerk about it!”

Peter had lost all the color in his face, and he was sitting ramrod straight. “You heard all that?”

Ned felt like he had overstepped a boundary all of a sudden. Even in his excitement, he could see the way Wanda had tensed, the way Peter regarded him with fear.

“What’s going on?”

Wanda gestured for him to sit down, and suddenly he wished he hadn’t said anything.

*

Tony was sitting with Steve in the common area, Rhodey joining in on their little meeting.

“So the U.N. would have to approve any missions we took outside of our country of origin, which for us would be the United States?” Steve still seemed uncomfortable. “But what if something’s going on that we can stop? If we can stop it, it’s our responsibility to do so.”

“If it’s an emergency situation, we can get approval from the country’s leader, and then get retroactive sign-off from the U.N.” Tony turned pages towards the end of the section. “This part right here goes over the procedures.”

Steve reread it, and Rhodey laughed. “You know, when he does that thing where he squints at the page like it’s going to bite him he looks like a hundred-year-old geezer reading the news.” Rhodey proceeded with a light-hearted set of jokes imitating an old man, most of which were clearly at Steve’s expense. He didn’t seem to mind them, though, so Tony didn’t pay them much mind.

Rhodey kept listening in, his own copy of the Accords on his lap. “Say, Tones, you didn’t mention this part.” He gestured to the page. “Staying Active Duty means these don’t apply?”

Tony could hit himself for having forgotten that point. “Yeah. Sorry about forgetting. These Accords are meant for people who are paramilitary and/or civilians. In the case of the Avengers, we’re all considered in the para-military category. People like Daredevil, Spider-Man, etcetera? They’re under the civilian category and have their own pertinent sections.

“Most of this has to do with internationally active enhanced individuals, though. It took a long time to get local individuals taken off the menu for registration. They still have to register with their localities, but they get some more leeway on it. They can try it out a bit, get a feel for it before they sign anything official. After that, they have to file a Continuation document or a Termination document, both of which require a listing of known abilities. That’s the end of it, for now, though, if they don’t cross international borders.”

Steve nodded. “So Peter would be protected from this.”

“Mostly.” Tony assured.

Steve continued looking over various sections. “You’re sure about these Accords?”

Tony shrugged. “As sure as I can be. There’s a lot of room for improvement, but we won’t have any voice in those improvements if we just toss them now. I would say if 117 countries agree on this, we should go with it, work it from within.”

Steve considered it. “I’ll keep reading, then. Do you mind continuing this little gathering?”

Tony shook his head. “Don’t mind at all, Cap. I did it for the kid, I can do it for you. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll teach a class on this stuff.”

Rhodey chuckled. “I remember you TA’ing a class at MIT. Trust me, the last thing this world needs is you teaching.”

“I do pretty well with the kid!”

“The kid can keep up with you.”

“You’ve got me there, Honeybear.”

What had started as a tense meeting soon devolved into a far more informal hangout, and Tony was glad for that. Things were starting to decompress.

*

Captain Holt had noticed the way Peralta was acting when it first started, but opted to stay out of it unless it affected his work. Now, though, he knew he should have gotten involved sooner. Jake had snapped at Gina and hadn’t been focused in several days.

“Peralta! My office, now.”

Jake rolled his eyes, throwing his pen down and entering the office with very little regard. He slouched into one of the chairs while Captain Holt closed the blinds, figuring it would be best to keep Amy from reading lips to listen in on the conversation.

“You may have issues with Parker, but you will not bring those issues into the workplace.”

“How am I supposed to do that when no one around here tells me _anything?_ ” He shook his head. “I thought if Peter and I had anything, it was honesty. He doesn’t lie, he doesn’t sneak around. So why is it I was the last to know he had run into the guy hunting him?”

“Jacob, how would you have reacted if he had told you?”

“I would have gone looking for the guy! He hurt Peter!” He could see the pieces fall into place as Peralta voiced his first instincts. “He didn’t want me getting hurt.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you as much.”

Jake scowled. “He said he didn’t want to worry me.”

Holt leaned back in his chair. That did sound like Peter. “Can I share something with you?”

“Do I actually have a choice?”

Holt paid his comment no mind. “In the years I've known him, I've learned that Peter isn’t one to share his feelings. He is private like that. You, however, are one of three people he shares nearly everything with. If he wanted to keep something from you, I would question why as well. If he said he was trying to avoid worrying you? I would assume he was worried about you, and saying that was his way of saying he wanted you safe.”

Jake’s lip twitched the way they did whenever he didn’t like what Holt had said, but knew he was right. “I hate it when you do that.”

“Deduct things logically?”

“When you’re right!”

Holt smiled a bit. “If you’d please, I would like to get back to work. Please do work out your issues with Peter, though. Kevin’s concerned, and I am inclined to agree. Peter is young, and young people can become self-destructive if they feel like they have lost control of their surroundings. I would advise speaking to him as soon as you can.”

Jake nodded. “Will do, Captain.”

“And, Peralta?” Jake had just stood as Holt looked up at him again. “You’ve come a long way in the last few weeks. You’re a good detective, and a good friend. I know you will do right by Peter.”

“Thanks, Captain.” Jake nodded at him, his lips pressed into a line. “That really means a lot.”


	26. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter learns more about his hunter's accomplice. He also begins to reconcile with Jake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a shorter chapter because I'm in a weird place mentally today and just wanna go to sleep right now (it's closing in on 2 AM and my fingers are having trouble typing everything out without missing or mixing up keys). 
> 
> I love all of you, though. Thank you so much for reading this and commenting! I'm glad so many of you are enjoying it.

Peter made an effort to hang with Ned more often than before, and it was easier now that he didn’t have to hide Spider-Man from him. He was careful, too, making sure he changed on rooftops and snuck down fire escapes blocks away from Ned. He didn’t want to risk Ned, not when they were finally repairing their friendship.

He still hadn’t seen Jake. He kept finding reasons to cancel on him or turn down plans, even if he knew that couldn’t last. As it was, Rosa and Nat were trying to push him into it.

“You know, as cute as you two are as a couple,” Peter barely ducked a punch from Nat from a combination of delayed Spider-Sense reaction and mouthing off, “I kind of liked it when you didn’t tag team me on my personal issues.”

Nat smirked, throwing a kick that Peter managed to dodge, only to walk right into an elbow to the chest. These sparring matches were getting harder and harder. “You’ll live, I’m sure.”

“Will I, though?” Peter managed to catch the arm as the elbow flew towards him again. “Seriously, I don’t know that I will. You two are probably the scariest people I know.”

The sparring conversation died after that, the two of them getting lost in the pattern of strikes and dodges.

Their training wrapped up with Natasha tapping his shoulder. “Hey, keep that couple stuff quiet for us, alright?”

“Huh?”

“We aren’t out yet. Rosa’s out to the squad, but I’m not out to the Avengers, and we haven’t been public as a couple yet. So, if you can, we’d appreciate it if you kept it on the down-low.”

“Yeah.” Peter nodded, tapping her shoulder in return. “You got it.”

“Thanks, kid.”

“No problem.”

*

His first patrol in four days – having been halted after his run-in with his hunter – didn’t go any better than the last one.

He had found the Vulture by chance. The man had been there, at a weapons deal, and Peter couldn’t hesitate to pursue him. He couldn’t let this man get away. Even if now, he wished he had.

His body slammed into the concrete from about thirty feet. He could feel it in his bones, the shockwaves of the impact. He made himself stand up, though, and he made himself send a web at one of the wings, even if moving his arms hurt. He had never been more grateful for the abilities granted to him by the spider bite that were healing-based. He was going to be in pain, but it was easier to deal with when he knew most of it would be gone in a few days’ time. He heard the noises from his suit, but couldn’t process them very well.

So he definitely had a concussion then.

“Fuck.”

There was someone talking to him, but he had to roll out of the way of another attack from the man in the wing-suit. He wasn’t going to be answering anyone for a while yet, and soon whoever it was seemed to figure that out, because there was a raspy sound that he kind of figured was a sigh, and then there was a disconnect.

Meanwhile, Peter felt himself blasted with first cold, then heat. His body’s ability to maintain a constant temperature had gone out the window after the bite, something he had managed on his own so far, but now he could feel it affect his reaction time.

The longer this fight went on, though, there was the distinct feeling that this guy was holding back. He wasn’t trying to kill Peter like a lot of people did (and god, that was a depressing sentence), but instead seemed to be toying with him. Testing him.

_“A dear friend of mine has plans, and he needs you to test them on.”_

Of course that asshole was in cahoots with the Vulture guy. Peter had almost forgotten about the Vulture in the confusion of the last few weeks, but now it made sense. The lack of weird weapons ending up on the streets of Queens, the odd silence from certain corners of the criminal sector. Things he hadn’t even been giving a second thought to other than to be pleased that there was one or two fewer things for him to worry about.

He really wished he’d paid closer attention now, rather than just letting himself focus on his own problems. He felt something else hit him, and suddenly he felt more concrete. Not even his Spider-Sense could really help him, given it had been delayed since the fall to the ground.

He saw the Vulture guy stand above him, heard him mutter something, but he didn’t retain any of it. Instead, as the man flew away, he forced himself to his feet. He forced himself to his feet and started walking towards… well, he wasn’t exactly sure. His sense of direction was so far off that he couldn’t really tell where he was headed, just that it felt like it was the right way to go.

He would be lectured when he was lucid again about walking in alleys and dangerous neighborhoods while injured and wearing the suit. He wouldn’t remember how he ended up at Avengers Tower, or that he had mumbled for an hour while doctors worked on his injuries, his rambling getting less and less comprehensive as time went on.

He would wake up to a nightmare, though, about the eyepieces of that suit, and about the fall from the building. He would retain minor details from the fight, but nothing important.

He wouldn’t remember the connection he made during the fight for several days, and he wouldn’t know how to bring it up. Clint would end up dragging it out of him.

But in that moment, all Peter Parker was aware of was the pain in his body as he walked down an unfamiliar alley, and the feeling that walking at least meant he was doing _something_ instead of lying broken on the ground.

*

May and Ben categorically forbade him from patrolling until they found his hunter after that SNAFU, holding onto Peter a little tighter while he recovered. Rosa was becoming more protective, Wanda stuck by his side a little bit more, and Tony seemed to be focusing on how he could prevent that kind of fall from breaking as many bones the next time.

Four broken ribs, a fractured ulna, and a broken wrist. He had gotten hairline fractures on his scapula, too, but there wasn’t much that could be done for those.

All those injuries and he still hadn’t broken Rosa’s record. It had come up one night when he was hanging out with the squad after work. Rosa mentioned that she had been badly injured in the aftermath of a case and ended up with six broken ribs, and about five other fractures throughout her body. Eleven in total. Peter wasn’t determined to break it, per say. He more thought it was inevitable that he was going to get seriously injured one day and break it anyway, meaning that in the process he should _absolutely crush it_.

He didn’t like to think about what that said about him as a person, so he focused instead on the things he finally had time for – like putting his life back in order – which is why he was standing outside Jake’s door, knocking before he could chicken out.

Jake opened it looking a little worse for wear, but he had been focusing in on the case more and more according to Amy. He didn’t waste a second in crushing Peter’s mostly healed (though the sheer volume of injury meant everything was taking a little longer) body in a hug and dragging him inside.

“I know we should talk about it, but Die Hard marathon and orange soda cereal first?”

As far as Peter was concerned, there had never been a more beautiful sentence spoken in his life. Even if the idea of eating Jake’s sugary cereal with orange soda had his teeth preemptively screaming in protest. They would talk when they were ready, but for right now they just needed to be brothers.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got my next story in the works right now, but I'm going to try to get a head start on that one while I finish up this one. I've actually talked about it with spiderboyneedsahug (they're incredible, check them out). If you want to know more about it, hit me up on tumblr (http://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com) and I'll gladly talk about it. It'll be another Marvel one, but with more of a focus on the Tony & Peter dynamic (a fatherly relationship, especially, given what I have planned for it) and might include some Irish mythology bc I'm a huge fucking nerd.


	27. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa and Peter deal with the fall out of the cold, and Peter has a tangential encounter with someone he'd rather not see. 
> 
> Ben reaches out to Tony, and Tony learns something about the nature of family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Some family feels at the end of this chapter if I did it right... 
> 
> I'm going to go for something kind of funny tomorrow, and then we're going to get into the serious stuff again. 
> 
> I love all of you so much! Thanks for reading, commenting, subscribing, etc.!

Peter had done well when it came to managing his senses. The lack of trauma to his body as the days and weeks started passing certainly helped, and he thought he had them just about under control. As it got colder, he started having to fight them back more and more, as they took the lower temperatures as a threat. Everything was on edge during the day, but he was managing, and that was what was important. He didn’t realize how easy it would be, given the already sensitive balance he was maintaining, for an emotional upset to send them back into a barely controlled mayhem.

Peter was quick to enter Rosa’s apartment and shut the door, locking it behind him with each lock Rosa had on it before hiding out in his room, pulling the curtains shut and putting headphones on, set at a volume a notch past uncomfortable to really drown out the world around him.

It had been the man from that night, his hunter. And he had been watching Peter, had followed him with his eyes from his place on the street corner like he knew it was Peter in the suit and was just planning how he was going to go after him. It left him feeling gross, left him feeling like there was a thick cloud of slimy energy marking him.

He hated it.

He sat on the bed, not touching or looking at anything as he fought off the onslaught.

It always started with scent. His nose would start picking everything up, triggering his tastebuds and mouth to react accordingly. Given the scent in New York City, it wasn’t unreasonable that he felt like gagging half the time when this happened. Fighting down the urge to vomit, he started focusing on the bass line and the lyrics coming in through his headphones.

 _Put another X on the calendar_  
_Summer’s on it’s deathbed_  
 _Very simply nothing worse_  
 _Than knowing how it ends_

This was good. He was keeping his focus off of everything swarming him. He let his eyes close a minute, and started working the volume down slowly, letting the world come back to him. He let himself edge one headphone out, taking in things a little bit at a time. His eyes still hadn’t opened, but that was for the best. He always had to do his eyes last.

He had broken everything down to a system. First, he had to isolate. Following that, he had to distract himself so everything tactile and olfactory could be drowned out – that was best done by overwhelming his hearing. After that, he could lower everything until he was back in an almost normal state. Jake and Rosa knew the signs, knew that sudden disappearances to his room usually meant it was best to give him space. May and Ben sometimes helped him through it by burning a candle in the apartment to help drown out some of the other scents that crawled in through the windows.

But he knew more than enough, had more than enough experience handling these episodes on his own.

He had hoped, however, that walking the maze around Rosa’s apartment he had used to throw off any potential stalkers would give him time to reorient his senses without interruption.

Instead, just as he was able to get his eyes open, he heard slamming against the door. He grabbed his phone, ignoring the lance in his head that came from the sudden light and the onslaught of sound.

_Unlock the door._

A single text from Rosa, and now that he looked at the time, he realized he had been laying there longer than planned. It didn’t normally take him this long to work through overload…

He continued to ignore the pain and ran to the door, unlocking it for Rosa before turning back to his room. The only thing stopping him was the fact that his haywire senses had sent his Spider-Senses into hyperdrive, meaning he ignored them when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

It didn’t mean he ignored the hand. He ended up snapping on instinct, already high-strung from the constant input. The tapping of the feet of rats and mice in other parts of the apartment complex, the scratchy sound of cars on the roads below bleeding into his head. The amount of light in the apartment was ungodly, and everything _smelled_.

So without thinking, he brushed the hand off his shoulder and had already turned, prepping to catch and throw a punch before someone else had him down on the ground. The sensation of being slammed into something hard helped him focus on a different sensation, a physical one.

“You look like shit.”

Natasha wasn’t with Rosa this time. He knew the two had been on a date that night. Or was it later that night? He didn’t know…

“I feel like shit. Are you getting better at fighting or am I getting worse.”

“You were slow.” Rosa leaned down, a hand touching his skin. He flinched from the feeling. Rosa’s hand was _burning_. “You’re freezing…”

Rosa pulled him up, despite the protest from his limbs, and dragged him to his room. She threw sweatpants at him before pulling out one of Peter’s larger sweaters and throwing that at him too.

“Change, and then come out into the living room.”

Peter nodded, ignoring the way everything was stabbing at him again. He heard Rosa call someone, but couldn’t bring himself to focus on the conversation. He’d probably hear about it anyway, if the look on her face earlier was anything to go by.

*

Rosa’s first mission was to text Nat and tell her what was up and that she wouldn’t make their date. Immediately after that it was a call to Stark.

“Do you know why he’s freezing?”

“Hello to you too, Detective Diaz. Care to elaborate?”

Rosa scowled. “Peter. He was slow this afternoon, and his skin isn’t just cold, it’s freezing like he just spent three hours in snow without a coat or gloves or a scarf.”

Tony made a humming sound as he considered. She heard him mutter something. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I haven’t really looked at his entire med report.” Stark was distracted as he spoke, she could hear it in the lower volume and longer cadence. “When he was brought here the first time, though, they had to check for any abnormalities and account for them accordingly. It says here his DNA has been altered with arachnid DNA.”

It was Rosa’s turn to swear. “He was bit by a spider several months ago on a school trip. Some genetics place.”

Tony made a sound before speaking. “I’m going to run this against known spider DNA strands, out of curiosity, but I think this may be a side-effect. Spiders don’t thermoregulate like humans do, so the cold must have thrown his system off. Warm him up and then text me to let me know he’s okay, alright?”

Rosa murmured an agreement as Peter walked out. This wasn’t just the cold. He looked like he had been run through the wringer a couple dozen times in the last hour or so, and she knew he wouldn’t say a damn thing about it even if she prompted him to.

“Bye.”

There was something pleasing about hanging up on the Tony Stark. She relished the feeling as she made Peter some hot chocolate, shoving it into his hands and telling him to sit on the couch. She changed into something more comfortable herself before grabbing the blankets off of her bed and dragging them out to where Peter was sitting, still looking like crap and barely staying awake.

“You need to stay warm, bud.” She sat down near him and threw one of the blankets over the two of them. If her body heat was thrown into the mix, it might help. She could only hope.

“You never call me ‘bud’.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Didn’t plan on it.” He took another sip of the hot chocolate, head starting to lean into the couch cushion. “I’m so tired.”

“Stay awake until your temperature’s back up, okay?”

He nodded. Rosa leaned forward, pressing her hand back at his cheek. He was warmer now, but not by much.

“You’re going to be okay. I promise.” He was already nodding off, so Rosa slipped the hot chocolate from his hands. She barely met resistance from him. They both knew, no matter what he said, he wasn’t staying awake much longer.

“Everything’s quiet again.” Peter yawned, stretching his arms and getting some life back in his eyes before the clouds of fatigue started leaking back in. “It was so loud earlier… it was exhausting.”

Rosa stood up, moving Peter (who had become so much lighter after the bite, even if he put on muscle) down on the couch and putting his head on her lap. He was fairly relaxed, only moving the little bit necessary to help her shift him down, not even questioning it. She pulled her phone out and pulled up the song he and Peralta liked so much, the one that always put him to sleep, and started running her hands through his hair.

_Tell me why  
Ain’t nothin’ but a heartache_

He was asleep in the first minute of the song, his breath evening out, and the heat from sharing the blanket with Rosa warming him up bit by bit. An hour later, and Rosa was carrying him to his room, pulling the blankets around him and turning the heat up in the house. She knew he wouldn’t appreciate the attention of it, but the episodes were coming more frequently. Minor episodes were happening at least twice a week, and Peter didn’t even seem to notice that’s what they were. He would become jumpy and snappish at the drop of a pin. It had been months, as far as she knew, since he had a bad one, but here he was exhausted and sleeping harder than he had in two weeks.

They didn’t talk about his nightmares. Rosa was fairly certain he thought she didn’t know, but she had heard them a few times when she had either woken to his shouting from the other room or when she was already awake and he started to call out.

It was a shame that anymore it took something like an episode to knock him out and let him sleep as hard as most teenagers did.  She supposed, though, that fighting people as often as he did, getting stabbed, shot, and a myriad of other injuries she hated to think about would do that to anyone his age.

Even as she walked out of the room, she couldn’t deny the urge to stay and keep an eye on him.

“Stupid kid…”

She ended up sleeping with her door open. She hated to, but it meant she would be able to hear him better if he needed her.

*

Ben Parker was surprisingly sneaky for a civilian, which is probably why Tony didn’t notice him until he heard the question fall from his lips.

“It was a wolf spider that bit him?”

“Apparently.” Tony gestured at the holographic screen. “This right here, though… I don’t know how it would have transferred its genes to him.”

Ben shook his head. “He doesn’t think May and I know about it, but he calls it Parker Luck, how everything seems to happen to him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He didn’t start until he got older, but when he started working through everything that happened with his parents and then all the issues he was having with bullies… He tried to cope through humor. He still does, but he knows it bugs May when he lets it get too dark and macabre, so it’s mostly with his friends.”

“He never talks about his parents. I know it can be a touchy subject, so I didn’t pry, but is he okay? Did he work through it?” He wouldn’t admit it to his teammates because he would be teased about it, but he worried about the kid. A lot. This life had messed with Tony, and he would hate to see someone youg get caught in the same cycle of self-destruction Tony had.

“I don’t think he’ll ever be completely over it. He was so young when they were killed, and he was right there… He’s lucky he didn’t get killed by those drones, too.”

“Drones?”

There was a pit in Tony’s stomach, and the sad look in Ben’s eyes didn’t help. He looked like he was torn between sharing and keeping it private. Moreover, he looked worried for _Tony_ in a way that no one had been in a long time.

“Hammer Drones.” Ben gave Tony a minute to process what he had said before continuing. “That was the night you became his all-time favorite person. When he was eight, superheroes in general were cool, and you were one of the most public ones around. He didn’t start to idolize you until that night, though.”

Tony felt something sink. Peter, the young and bright kid who lived with his relatives and never talked about his parents, the kid that could get hit by a truck and never mention it until he had long since healed, had been at the Expo that night.

Ben wasn’t done. “You saved his life that night. May and I had gotten him one of those helmets, the toy ones? He wore it everywhere, but especially to the Expo.”

He remembered. He had thought it was cute, the kid whose head he had ruffled a bit. The kid who had stood in front of a drone.

“He tried to stare one down…”

Ben seemed to notice the shift in Tony’s attitude as he interrupted, because he reached a hand over to his shoulder. “Peter’s always been a bit of a reckless idiot, ever since he was little. He was so angry that night…”

“Wait, you were there too?”

“No.” Ben became more melancholy, he sank into a chair next to Tony, and he could see the weight of the memory on his face. Tony could empathize with that, he could understand the crushing weight of guilt and worry. He had felt it for the kid, and for friends, more times than he could count. “No, May and I didn’t find out whether or not he was safe for several hours. We didn’t sleep that night. Peter didn’t sleep in his room, either.”

A kid maybe ten years old navigating New York City after something like that? Tony wanted to vomit a little.

“I don’t know that he would have come out of everything as well as he did without Jake. May and I were there for him from the moment he showed up with Jake at our door, crying about Mary and Richard, but we were grieving.

“He’s always been selfless, since he was a kid. It’s his best strength and his most fatal flaw.” Ben sighed. He hadn’t met Tony’s eyes in several minutes, but he turned now to face him, nothing clearer in his face than the prideful worry for his kid. “He wouldn’t have talked to us about it, and if he did, he wouldn’t have been honest. Jake let him just be. I remember the times Jake would hold him while he screamed and hit and cried… He acts like an idiot, but he’s always been there, no questions asked. I have a lot of respect for him.”

There was nothing but silence between them for several moments. There was a pressure in Tony’s chest, around his lungs, that was holding him hostage. Sometimes, in remembering that night, he forgot about the civilians that had gotten caught in the crossfire. About the death toll.

And now he had a living reminder.

“Don’t get that look on your face, Anthony.”

No one had called him Anthony in an even longer time than they had looked at him with worry for his wellbeing.

“What?”

“It’s not your fault.” Ben smiled. “I didn’t tell you this to guilt you. I told you so you would know that you’ve made a difference to Peter. He… It’s hard to get him to open up about much. He tries to do everything alone. Even if he’s a naturally more excitable person than Rosa, I think that’s why the two of them have always gotten along so well.

“He’ll come to you in his time, though. This Spider-Man thing, it hasn’t been easy on him, and you’re the person he trusts the most out of the Avengers. When he does come to you…” Ben put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. Tony finally had a word for it – fatherly. That’s what this all felt like. It felt like how he saw fathers treat their sons, like what he was told normal was supposed to be. “When he comes to you, I want you to know that it’s okay to not handle things perfectly the first time. It’s okay to be worried, to be expressive. But the best thing you can do for him in that moment is to let him say his piece and then let him guide the conversation towards or away from it.”

“What do you mean?”

And why did that kid look up to and trust him of all people? He was a wreck.

“I mean that if he makes a comment about something, even if your first reaction is to grill him on it, try not to. Ask him a couple questions, but if he isn’t receptive, change the subject. He worries too much about us, and feels too guilty about this protection thing, to come to me or May about it. You're in the life, though, and he needs to talk to someone. If you're up for it, make yourself available to talk to. Accessible, approachable.”

Tony nodded. “You got it. I’ll… I can’t promise anything, but that I’ll do my best.” Tony swallowed his first instinct to flat-out refuse. "I'm not good at the emotion thing, but I'll do my best to be approachable."

“You care a lot for the kid.” Ben smiled at him, and it made Tony feel like maybe he wouldn’t always live in the shadow of Howard’s mistakes. He had been doing better, but the voices that were born of years under his father still sometimes whispered that there was something broken and untenable about him. Unlovable, even. A few kind words from a man that had been a parent almost as long as Tony had been Iron Man, though, and he felt a little better. “You’ll do fine, no matter what you do. Think of it as words of advice from someone who wants what’s best for the both of you. I’m in your corner, Anthony.”

It felt nice, Tony admitted to himself as Ben stood up, stretched, and muttered about leaving to start dinner, having someone care for him like that. It… The closest had been Jarvis, but even he had been bound by a sense of propriety and obligation to Howard. This was different. Someone had taken time out of their life to make a difference to Tony. To care about him in the way parents cared for their children.

It left a really nice feeling in his chest over the twisted and hard one that came with thinking about Peter in such a dangerous position all those years ago. A feeling that lasted the rest of the day. Maybe that was why Peter had turned out to be such a great kid – he had probably the best role models and caregivers he could have asked for.

Tony wouldn’t notice until the next morning, but the feeling didn’t go away. It settled in his chest and eased something in him. He had someone who wanted to be in his corner. What a strange, new feeling…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU BET BEN AND MAY FREAKING ADOPTED TONY. But, seriously, though. Tony's become a not-quite-father-figure-not-quite-role-model/mentor to Peter, and Ben and May definitely see the work all the Avengers put into Peter, but they totally see the all nighters Tony pulls on the suit (that haven't really been mentioned. Maybe in a side story) and decide that, well, they've already adopted one adult (Jake). They can take another one. 
> 
> AND WE HIT THE OFFICIAL LENGTH OF A NOVEL!!! This is officially over 50k words. I'm kind of proud of that...


	28. Jimmy Jabs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is extremely competitive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had that last written out challenge in my head since literally before I posted this story. It's later than normal, so I'm not sure if this chapter is entirely comprehensible, but I'm going to sleep before I start losing the entirety of my ability to type. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting! You're all wonderful people!!

All it took was one text and Peter was cancelling his plans with Mister Stark in seconds and forgetting he was being hunted by two criminals. He felt a little bad about cancelling so unexpectedly given all Mister Stark had done, but it was worth it. The text had him jittery the final ten minutes of classes, and he tore out of school like someone was out to kill him.

_Jake Peralta: We’re on motorcade duty tonight. All night on-call. The Captain is off this week for vaca with the Kevster, and Sarge is going home normal time to watch his girls. You know what that means… No supervision. Which means…_

_Jake Peralta: JIMMY JABS. GET HERE AS FAST AS YOU CAN._

*

Happy only got a glimpse of the kid as he waited for the traffic in front of the school to move along, but the look of excitement and bliss on his face was one that Happy realized he hadn’t seen on the kid. At the very least, he hadn’t seen it in a while.

Whatever he had canceled for, Happy was glad for it if it made the kid that happy. He had enough going on, he deserved a break. Happy even decided to call the kid over, give him a ride to wherever it was he was so eager to get to. He listened to the rapid-fire rambling about whatever it was that had the kid so excited and tried to partake, even if he was only getting every third or fourth word. The entire car ride there, Happy had only said “Kid, you need a haircut.”

*

Peter ran into the precinct with as much excitement as he had when he walked out of school, and Happy decided to follow him.

_Something’s up at the precinct, Boss. Gonna stick around and find out what. Kid’s excited, so it’s a 50/50 shot on whether it’s life threatening or not._

Tony responded in moments.

_Right on all counts. Keep me posted._

As it turned out, the thing that had Peter so excited was a competition with the others at the precinct that was, honestly, the kind of stupid shenanigans he absolutely would have loved when he was Peter’s age. The kinds of shenanigans he had gotten roped into, even, when Tony was still trying to use partying and stupid stunts to come out from under his father’s shadow.

While he was glad that chapter of Tony’s life was mostly closed now, he had to admit this was something that would have been interesting to see his boss partake in.

The challenges were all decided before Peter got there, with only one challenge being retained from past competitions. The first one was a race to see who could run barefoot across the precinct floor and into the elevator the fastest. The catch was that the floor had been covered in different parts with canola oil or water, making it ridiculously slick. The contestants were allowed to fight or fend each other off, and the first person to fall and the last person to the elevator were going to be eliminated. Peter wasn’t allowed to use his adhesive skills, either, making the kid smirk.

“As if I’ll need them.”

Happy was quick to get his phone out and film the whole thing, planning to send it to Tony afterward. His angle wasn’t the best, but it was still funny when Rosa used her near-slip to throw Charles off balance and into Peter. It almost got Peter out, except he quickly fell into a cartwheel on the ground, using it as an opportunity to get further in the race. Because of Peter’s feet rocketing into the air and kicking him, Charles ended up falling and was out. Peter was second to Santiago, who was doing the most ridiculous victory dance Happy had ever seen.

The man Peter had introduced as Scully was last, but didn’t seem too dismayed by the idea.

Gina stepped forward, making a face as she saw oil get on her shoe. “Alright, contestants. Challenge two is very similar to our last competitions opening challenge, except this time we’ve changed it up a bit.

“Here before you are smoothies made by the courtesy of Charles Boyle.” Boyle raised a hand and smiled. “These smoothies contain one full Monster drink, and then one of Charles’ weird and disgusting food favorites. If you make it through the entire smoothie, you’re safe. If not, then you will be judged on total amount consumed. If you vomit, you are excluded automatically.”

Happy could smell the beverages from where he sat, and they made him want to gag. Peter was looking the most bothered of anyone there, and Happy had to pity the kid. Sitting next to all of those with enhanced senses sounded like torture. When Gina signaled the start, Happy was already debating if this was worth filming. The poor kid was probably going to get crushed. Either way, Tony would appreciate this, and it would be funny to watch later.

He gagged in the first few seconds, prompting Santiago to stop drinking and taunt him. “Ah, poor kid. Can’t drink anymore?”

“I buy lunch in a high school cafeteria every day, Santiago.” Peter made eye contact with her as he chugged down the rest of his. He swallowed down a burp before he spoke again. “I can choke down literally the most disgusting things known to man at this point.”

Jake ended up chickening out halfway through his. Amy ended up only getting through three-quarters of hers. Other than Hitchcock, it was only Rosa and Peter that made it entirely through theirs.

Tony hadn’t looked at the first video yet, but Happy still sent the second one along, this time captioned with “The kid spends way too much time with you.” That move was very like something a younger Tony would have done, and it had given Happy a bit of déjà vu to watch.

Happy didn’t even catch the rules of the next competition, still texting Tony and promising him that he was making sure Peter didn’t crack his skull on floors or fall over from a caffeine overdose, so his only context for what happened was that Peter was making jokes about bleeding and nursing a small cut on his lip from having fallen into a desk. He cleared the challenge, though, and seemed pretty excited about it.

Happy was still trying to dissuade Tony from coming down when he heard the next challenge and that whole plan was scrapped. He had to see this, and he had a feeling Tony would want to see it as well.

“And our returning challenge from last year, you all have thirty minutes to go to the thrift store across the street and craft a disguise. You will provide receipts proving you spent no more than 15 dollars, and then you will try to get through the precinct in these disguises without being recognized. Go!”

Hitchcock didn’t make it to the elevator, and said he would just go around as he was. He didn’t even get through one person before he was back, saying he had lost.

Tony showed up to the precinct, walking in through the roof-access door and waiting with Happy. Evidently, he had taken the armor here.

“So, what was so exciting I had to see?”

“He has to get through this precinct in disguise, and ten minutes ago he asked Linetti over there to run him her make-up.”

Tony looked like he was fighting the urge to laugh and settled in. “Well then, I’m glad you called me in for this one. This should be good.”

Rosa got through three people, evidently a significant improvement (“Three hundred percent increase, Rosa! Nice!” – Boyle) from the previous time they had held this competition.

Tony thought the whole thing as hilarious and ridiculous as Happy did, but he did catch Tony making notes about it in his StarkWatch.

“You thinking of trying something like this at the Compound?”

“I’m not sure. I think it could be fun, but at the same time I don’t want anyone getting pissed at me for making them drink whatever it was that Peter chugged in that second video.”

“Yeah.” Happy shook his head, turning to Charles. “What even was that one?”

Boyle nodded. “It pained me to do it, but I mixed the purple Monster with the juices from some shiokara.” He smiled. “I had it the other day, and the chef is a friend of mine so he let me take some of the juice home in a jar. It’s fish that’s been fileted and is served in a salty paste made of their fermented viscera. Really, it tastes better than it sounds.”

Tony’s look of concern and mild disgust was only matched by the look of shock from Peralta.

“You fed Peter fish viscerals?”

“Viscera.” Tony corrected Peralta without really thinking about it. “It means organs.”

Peralta gagged a bit at that and glared at Boyle. “You fed Peter fish organs?”

“He didn’t seem to have a problem with it!”

“Yeah, because he’s fifteen and stupidly competitive!” Jake shook his head. “How have you not noticed that?”

Tony halted their conversation there as Amy walked in, grinning. “Seven people. Better than last time.”

“So you didn’t pretend to be pregnant this time?” Peralta had a dopey look on his face, like there was an inside joke with that. Amy shook her head, and the two kept chatting.

Now they just had to wait for Peter. Rosa and Amy shared a smirk, like they knew something about Peter’s disguise that the others didn’t, and Tony couldn’t help but feel himself get excited. This was good. This was semi-normal interactions. More importantly, it was fun for the sake of fun, no hidden, second reason for it. After that conversation with Ben, Tony couldn’t help but think Peter needed more of that in his life. 

*

Peter had been careful when putting together his disguise. He loved thrift stores, but if he wore anything that was too close to how he normally looked he wouldn’t put the drop on anyone.

And then he saw it and started thanking every god there was for his nearly androgynous baby face that he normally hated.

It was a white sundress with blue and black flowers printed on it. He quickly found a pair of shoes that looked decent with it and a light jacket that would hide one of the more masculine aspects of his appearance – his arms. It came down to his calves, and the heels he found added two inches in height. Gina was quick to get him her make-up (though she refused to help him put it on, instead opting to video it and make jokes about putting it on the YouTube channel. She admitted later that it wasn’t half bad considering his lack of experience), and he found a purse he could fit his normal clothes into and some decent sunglasses to distract the eye and hide part of his face from whoever he would talk to.

He used his phone to figure out where he would need to pitch his voice to be somewhat convincing, and then paid for everything (Gotta love thrift stores. Everything came out just under the price limit) before walking into the precinct.

He started on the first floor with faces he didn’t recognize, asking just the right questions to get them to take him to someone else he probably didn’t know, using the bureaucratic ladder to his advantage. By the time he was headed back to the squad’s floor, he had fooled ten people. The last one had been hit by Rosa and Amy both during the contest, though, and his voice wasn’t holding up to being pitched so high as well as it had been. It was a good run.

“Ten people, bitches!” Peter made a bowing gesture. “You’re welcome.”

He hadn’t seen Mister Stark, though, so the laugh that came from his mentor had him rocketing up into a straight stand with enough force to make his vision dance a bit.

“Mister Stark!”

*

Tony had to admit, the kid did a good job with his disguise, and was surprisingly nonchalant about walking around a police precinct in a dress. Something like that would have killed Tony in embarrassment at that age. He was quick to make light of the situation, putting the kid somewhat at ease from his rigid stance. 

“You convinced ten people you were a girl?” Peralta seemed genuinely confused.

“I’m pretty sure half of them thought I was just a really shitty drag queen, but yeah.”

Tony joined in the laughter and jokes that were had before the next challenge. While it was meant to be a semi-final, Amy and Peter both ended up failing it, leaving Rosa the victor. It was nice, seeing these people unwind a bit. Seeing Peter unwind a bit. Things weren't good yet, but they were looking up a bit. He had narrowed the list a bit, and the kid was relaxing for once. He made sure to get some pictures to show to May and Ben.

And if Tony caught Peter sending a frankly ridiculous picture of Rosa to Natasha, which felt a little like confirmation for his suspicions about the two? Then no one needed to know.


	29. Not Always on the Front

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new lead turns up after Peter reaches out to an acquaintance. An acquaintance he wouldn't mind getting to know a bit better...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, Tyler is important later. Kind of. He's a civilian, so he never gets right in the fighting, but he's going to have a pretty important part to play later. Thanks @spiderboyneedsahug for letting me rant about it on Tumblr, even if you were probably asleep when I sent those messages! 
> 
> I really like Interwebs as a ship, but for this story I had other plans. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos! You're all wonderful!
> 
> Come say hi!
> 
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Peter didn’t go looking for trouble. He had left his old suit hidden under lockers at school where it belonged, and Mister Stark still had his new one. Instead, he kept his ear to the ground, frequenting whatever shady establishments he could when eyes were off of him, listening for any information about the man with the wings or the mugger that had been looking for him.

It paid off when someone sat across from him, passing him a group of photographs. He was at his favorite café in Brooklyn, this time. A smaller place with good cookies that were made in-house every morning.

“This is all I’ve got for you.” His name was Tyler, and Peter had seen him a couple of times at the precinct, usually brought in as part of the Junior Policeman Program that Holt had kept running, albeit with a rotation of different precinct employees running it each week that no longer included Amy or Gina. He acted tough and aloof, but Peter had seen the respect he had for some of the cops in the precinct, especially Rosa and Terry. Peter thought he was cute. His skin was a nice, dark brown, and he had expressive eyes. They had talked a few times at the precinct, leading to their meeting now.

“Thanks, man.”

“Nah, no need.” Tyler waved him off. “I talk a big game, but this detective stuff is fun. I still don’t trust the police, but this right here?” Tyler laughed at it. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll do something with the CIA or whatever.”

“You’d be good at it.” Peter smiled a bit, feeling like he was making a fool of himself. He knew he wasn’t, he knew he was holding his end of the conversation just fine. This was nerves. This was a crush.

It didn’t stop him from feeling a tad embarrassed, though, that ‘You’d be good at it’ was all he could come up with to say.

“You think?” Tyler’s eyes crinkled a bit at the edge, narrowed a bit, his eyebrows rising a bit. His lips turned up in a half smile, the kind he had seen before when he told someone he thought they could accomplish something they had thought was a reach.

“Yeah. You got these, didn’t you?” Peter gestured to his bag, where he had placed the photographs.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Tyler leaned in on the table. “I’m going to grab some coffee. You want anything?”

Peter reached for his wallet. “Tea and a cookie, please.”

Tyler pushed the money Peter tried to hand him for his order aside with a shake of his head. “Dude, go on an actual date with me, and we’ll be even.”

Peter could feel his face heating up a bit, his heart picking up ever so slightly. He could feel in his soul just how dorky the grin that broke out on his face looked, but couldn’t find it in him to be embarrassed with all the excitement he was feeling. He had to be at work in twenty minutes, but if this was going to be a date he was willing to turn the walk into a run. “Yeah, you got it.”

*

Peter was still grinning like an idiot when he got to the precinct, Tyler’s number saved in his phone before they parted ways with a little pink heart emoji next to it (Tyler’s idea. Peter had saved his with a beaker emoji in Tyler’s phone). Naturally, his expression was enough to cause Gina and Jake to start guessing who it was he had been talking to.

“Oh, was it Jeanine? She’s only two years older than you and she’s always at her dad’s office.”

“No. _He_ doesn’t work at this precinct.” Peter grabbed his pile of work. “I’m going to sit with Rosa. She doesn’t bother me.”

Unfortunately, Rosa saw fit to talk about it.

“I want a name. Whoever it is, if they hurt you in any way, I want to hear about it.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You’re not getting someone else to add to your shit list. At least let me see if it lasts, okay?”

Rosa gave him a look before nodding at his paperwork. “Get to work, then.”

All in all, a nice day.

*

When Tony was hitting hour 30 of his current lab binge, he realized what they were missing. They had compiled a list of plausible people who fit the description, abilities, and known background of the man they were looking for, but they hadn’t looked for similar crimes anywhere nearby. A serial mugger was news, but not the kind of sensationalist crime story that hit the papers nationwide. People might not connect them if he went far enough out of the city.

“FRIDAY, run a search through police records across the state. Compare our guy’s M.O. to that, would you?”

“Yes, sir.” A pause. “Would you like me to cross-reference with the already compiled list?”

“Absolutely.”

“This search will take an estimated forty-five minutes, during which it is advised you rest.”

“I’ve gone longer.”

But he could feel it in the way his lower back was starting to hurt from being hunched over a table for so long and the way his eyes burned. The couch wasn’t going to be comfortable in the slightest, and if he went to sleep now he had some semblance of hope for waking up when he had to for the meeting Pepper needed him at the next morning.

“When you’re finished, send it to me. I’ll look at it in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.” He pretended not to hear the slight lilt of satisfaction in FRIDAY’s voice.

*

Peter took the pictures straight to Tony, and Tony had to hold himself back from scolding the kid. It was part of the job, but it was a part of it that Tony had hoped to integrate into his training later, when he was closer to eighteen or nineteen. He and Natasha had even developed a bit of a curriculum for it, though they were more worried about his current training.

“Where’d you take these?”

“I didn’t.” That was one small blessing. “Tyler overheard me and Rosa talking about this guy and said he had heard about it. He offered to take the pictures.”

“Tyler?” Peter’s blush told him everything he needed to know.

“Yeah. He’s really nice!”

“I’m sure he is, kid.” He had to be, if this was what he did to impress his crush. Tony didn’t have the time to get into it, though, instead laying each picture out on the table in front of him. “FRIDAY, scan these into the file, and pull up that list.”

The list had three names, and now they had some pictures of the man, even if they were dark and grainy. “Alright, girl. Do your thing.”

The pictures were broadcast onto a hologram, FRIDAY using her programming to run analyses on the subject of the photo – the man mugging a woman.

“Do you know what happened to her?”

Peter shook his head. “Not exactly. Tyler said he took her to a hospital, though, so I think she got hurt.”

“He wouldn’t tell you?”

Peter grimaced. “I think he knows more than he lets on. He’s in the precinct a lot… He said I didn’t need to deal with more guilt.”

“Analysis complete, Boss.” A photograph, better this time, and with a full view of a handsome, if average, face. “This man, Roger Callahan, appears to be the suspect we are looking for. Shall I forward his address to your suit?”

“You know it.”

Peter seemed excited by the information. “Can I help?”

He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Anymore force and he’d be springing towards the ceiling. Tony seriously considered it a moment. The kid would be helpful, if only because more hands on deck meant more chances to back Callahan into a corner.

He didn’t want to risk Callahan getting any more information on Peter than he already had, though. He was looking for Spider-Man, and him showing up in this fight…

“Not on this one. Man the comms and watch our backs from here, though, alright?”

Peter, for all the disappointment on his face, nodded. “Just… If you need me, let me know, okay? Even if it’s just back-up, I want to help if I can. It’s my fault you’re going after him.”

“It’s not your fault he’s a criminal, though, so that argument doesn’t really hold up. Try again.”

“I want to see the guy that wants me dead.”

Well, Tony didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Even so, if he kept pushing the kid to be a bit more open about his thoughts and feelings now, he had a better chance of getting him into the habit of using healthy coping mechanisms for the psychological toll the life of a superhero took, meaning he could avoid his bad habits rubbing off on Peter.

“I can’t blame you for that. Just…” Tony sighed. He turned slightly, facing Peter fully and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I get it. I get wanting to know who it is, wanting to ask them why. But, in my experience, that just ends in heartache.

“He told you why. You ruined his criminal enterprises. Don’t… I don’t want you digging so deep into it that you find something you don’t like. That you find something, no matter if it’s inconsequential, and you wonder if you had known ahead of time, could you have done something. That kind of guilt eats at you, and it doesn’t stop. You’re so young, and so full of hope, and this job comes with a lot of stuff we - your aunt, your uncle, Nat, the other Avengers, and I – don’t think you should have to deal with yet, if it can be avoided. I know it's frustrating, but we want to do right by you.”

Peter nodded. There was something in his face, something that showed he got it, even if he wasn’t willing to admit it.

“Alright. I’ll… I’ll have your back from here. Show me what you need me to do. I want to help, however I’m useful. What do you need?”


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's back at patrolling, but his worry about his family is still ever strong.

Tony called Clint and Nat down, trusting the two of them to help take care of Callahan discreetly. Tony was helping on the ground, using the HUD screen on his suit to maintain a perimeter of the last area that he had any sightings on cameras of Callahan. Peter had been watching their back from the Tower, but ultimately couldn’t do much to help. It was fairly basic work in comparison to the kinds of things they normally handled. Clint and Nat had the mission largely handled.

When he walked into the Tower, Tony’s first stop (along with Clint and Natasha’s) was to pick up Peter. Now that they had Callahan in custody (having handed him over to a far too gleeful Rosa and a relieved Jake), they were going to bring the news to May and Ben. While they would be moving back to their home that weekend, Peter was more than excited to tell them they were, and by extension he was, safe.

Tony was sure he was still hiding something. He knew they hadn’t caught the Vulture, and that the kid was undoubtedly going to go looking. But he hoped the kid had learned something from all of this; he hoped the kid remembered to rely on others.

Peter bounded up to him, crushing him, then Nat, then Clint in hugs and rambling in excitement about seeing May and Ben every day again. Tony hadn’t even considered the toll it would take, when relocating the two of them, on Peter. He had been so worried about keeping the people the kid cared about safe, he had overlooked something so simple.

“Yeah, kid. You’re gonna get to see them again.”

Peter’s smile brightened just the slightest bit more at that. Clint punched his shoulder and challenged him to a race down to where they were meeting Happy, prompting Peter to bound after him, quickly gaining on him.

“Ah, youth.”

Natasha snorted. “He’s like a puppy.”

Tony nodded. “How’s Detective Diaz doing?”

Natasha gave him a look. “I’m going to make sure they don’t hurt themselves. Or Happy.”

Well, even if she didn’t want to talk about it, Nat had seemed happier. Lighter on her feet, a little more willing to show some emotions. Diaz was good for her.

*

Peter was glad to be back on patrol for the first time in weeks. He missed the feeling of falling and swinging through New York, even if Mister Stark had insisted on keeping an eye on him via the Baby Monitor Protocol since it had been so long. He only found out the name because Clint texted it to him, and he found it just a tad annoying.

Maybe that was why the second night he went out in the old suit. He could get away from people watching him. The threat was gone, taken care of, as far as they knew, so he didn’t understand why they were so protective. He knew the Vulture probably wouldn’t give up – something about their fight stood out to him – but he also knew telling anyone would get him benched again and get May and Ben put back into protective placement at the compound. Things had just gotten back to normal, and he wasn’t going to sacrifice that.

He had asked around, different people he had stopped from committing crimes before he had been able to carry his phone without busting it. Several of them had developed something of a rapport with him, and a few even claimed to owe him favors for pulling them away or out of progressively nastier situations. They knew the underworld in Queens, and the ones he talked to were the Doug Judy’s of his life – they were cleaning up their act little by little.

He could only ask so many people, though, given he was still trying to help people. In between questioning people, he often found himself on the receiving end of various blows, or even just falling into walls from missed shots with his webs. He had gotten rusty in his time off.

Ned knew about Spider-Man now, though, so he had a backup plan in place. Which is why he showed up to Ned’s house when he got injured. May and Ben thought he was there anyway for an overnight study session, so no harm no foul.

Unfortunately, Ned not only freaked out, but Ben had brought by Peter’s overnight bag he had packed mostly as a cover, and was sitting on the bed. The unimpressed look he gave Peter was enough to make him halt from his place on the ceiling, trying to come up with something believable.

“Get down off the ceiling, Peter.”

He dropped down, knowing from experience not to fight that tone.

“Why did you lie?”

Peter shifted where he stood. He didn’t know how to answer that. He knew why he lied, but he didn’t know how to tell Ben.

“Why did you lie, Peter?”

Ben didn’t wait as long for the third time. “Peter Benjamin Parker, either you tell me why you lied, or May and I have to have a serious discussion with you about whether or not you are allowed to continue your work as Spider-Man.”

“I don’t want you to have to leave again.”

Ben inhaled a bit. Not quite a gasp, but close enough. He was careful to let it out slowly, moving towards Peter and pulling him closer. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t think all of this is over, but I don’t think the Vulture wants me dead, he just doesn’t want me getting mixed up in his stuff. But I can’t not look for him, because what he’s doing could hurt people!

“If I told you, or Tony, or Holt, then they would want you and May to go back into protection, and the last couple weeks really sucked! I like staying with Rosa, and all, but I missed you and May! I don’t want you to leave again!”

Ben sighed, sitting at Ned’s desk chair. Ned was watching, careful not to interfere. “Peter, we want you to tell us these things. You are fifteen. _We_ are the adults, we have enough experience to inform our decisions.

“May and I won’t go anywhere if we can avoid it, but you can’t hide things from us. Or Mister Stark. I know about the safety protocols in your suit. If you’re pursuing this, you’re wearing the one that lets us track footage of your patrols.

“I want you to start keeping written records, too.”

“What?”

“We need to be able to track what you’re learning and when. What’s happening on patrols…” Ben shook his head. “May and I talked about what could have gone better with Callahan. If we had made you write things down, you might have remembered more details.”

Peter nodded. He had just broken his uncle’s trust. He could make a few concessions. “Alright.”

Ben nodded. “Alright, then. You two enjoy your study night. And Peter, what’s this I heard about a Tyler?”

Ben’s smirk told Peter enough – he was trying to lighten the mood and get a little bit of payback for what was undoubtedly worrying.

“Just a guy… friend…” Peter coughed. “Yeah. Guy-friend.”

“Is that what the kids are calling it now?” Ben smiled. “Whenever you think you’re ready, May and I would love to meet him.”

“It’s only been like two weeks…”

“I said whenever you’re ready, kid.” Ben ruffled his hair. “Don’t feel pressured.”

“Alright.” As Ben left, Peter grabbed his coat sleeve. “Thanks.”

“Just don’t do it again, alright?”

Peter nodded. “Promise.” He bit his lip. “Do you think there’s anything different we can do? If you guys are in danger again, I mean…”

Ben looked a bit pained. “I don’t know, kiddo. Maybe just make more time to actually see each other. You could come visit May and I at the hospital or something.”

Peter reacted without thinking about it. Bright lights, harsh smells, and loud noises? Not his idea of a pleasant place to be.

“The on-call room is pretty quiet. You could hang out there while May and I are busy.”

Peter nodded. “Alright. If it comes to that…”

“If it comes to that.”

It took all of five minutes after Ben left for Ned to jump on him.

“So who is Mister Stark?” His eyes were wide, excited. Peter remembered being that excited about his superhero gig. “Is it who I think it is?”

“I’m not saying anything. After that ‘Peter knows Spider-Man’ debacle from two weeks ago, I’d rather not give you any more ammunition to accidentally let slip during school.”

“So it is Tony Stark?”

“No comment.”

The look of pure glee on Ned’s face was worth it. They talked about Spider-Man stuff instead of studying, even if Peter danced around what he knew about the Avengers. It was nice, relaxing. While they talked, Peter wrote down (as he promised Uncle Ben) what he had learned that night. This stunt was going to bite him in the ass again, he knew it. Uncle Ben was going to tell, at minimum, May. Probably Jake and Holt, Diaz would find out one way or another, and he wouldn’t be surprised if one of his guardians called Tony and told him.

He was screwed, but at least he had people in his corner. It was easy to forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it! I'm glad Tyler got a positive response! He's going to be showing up here and there, more frequently the closer we get to Homecoming. And yes, the situation with Flash and the party already happened (given the Ned-letting-slip thing happened), I just didn't feel like writing the whole thing out, since it pretty much followed canon. Peter was just a lot more reluctant to use Spider-Man to get some credit at school. The party happened in this story about the same time Peter got the suit back, but before he went on his first patrol since being benched for safety. 
> 
> I love all of you! Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr! My messages should be open, and I'm 80% sure my ask-box is too  
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com


	31. Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is adjusting to things going back to how they were before. 
> 
> So is everybody else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm going to do my best, but I can't guarantee an update Saturday night/Sunday morning (it's almost always like 1 in the morning my time when I update), because I need to get plenty of sleep Sunday. I'm flying out to visit family and have to be on the road around 5 to get to my flight on time. 
> 
> I'll do my best, though! And this week, I'll try to stay on top of everything! 
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr, and thanks for reading and commenting! 
> 
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Rosa had gotten used to having Peter at her home. She didn’t like it when it was suddenly empty in her apartment, and when she didn’t have a teenager coming home with her to eat her food, watch TV with her, and ramble on about school and friends. So, she made an effort to hang out with him outside of work more. She went to his trainings with Natasha, even though she had originally told Nat she wanted to respect the boundary of their work and professional lives.

Peter was leaving the gym at the Tower, bounding off to bother Stark about something science-y.  Rosa watched him, glad to see him so much happier since things had started to reorient themselves for him. Natasha walked over towards her, speaking low as she got Rosa’s attention.

“You miss him.”

“Of course, I do.” Rosa glanced around her, just to be sure no one was around. “He’s one of the few people aside from you, the captain, and Jake I can stand for long periods of time. And I only like Jake when he’s not working himself to death out of worry.”

Natasha put a hand to Rosa’s shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yes. There is.” Rosa scowled. “I feel weak.”

“You can miss him. I won’t tell anyone.”

The look Rosa gave her was filled with painful disdain. “You better not.”

“Or what?” Sometimes Rosa forgot that Natasha could easily destroy her, but she never forgot for long. Natasha laughed as her eyes widened.

“I’ll think of a thing or two.”

Rosa didn’t like that she blushed when Natasha leaned in, whispering, “Oh, I’m sure you will.”

*

Peter had managed to get a few more leads on the Vulture. There was a deal going down soon, on a ferry, but he had also heard tell there was supposed to be something big going down in a few days, a weapons deal that the head guy wasn’t supposed to attend. Opting to keep himself off of the radar of the Vulture if he could, Peter had handed the tip in to Jake and Holt, who were setting something up to stop it.

His life outside of Spider-Man was getting far more interesting, though. The Decathlon team was going to Nationals, his job was getting progressively more interesting and more oriented towards actually working with the NYPD, as the local authorities wanted Spider-Man working alongside them more often in the spirit of the Sokovia Accords.

Within the Nine-Nine, he and Jake were getting on better, having worked out some of the issue from before. Beyond that, Jake had started coming over to May and Ben’s once a week for dinner. It was an old ritual that had been dropped around the time Peter was thirteen, and he hadn’t even realized how much he missed it. He had even tagged along to dinner with Mister Stark and the Avengers once, using the time to embarrass Peter with stories from when he was younger.

Tyler… He and Tyler were doing great. He was still a bit of a nervous mess around Tyler, but it balanced out. While he had been fairly suave in that coffee shop, he had later admitted it had been a combination of sleep deprivation throwing his impulse control out the window and fifteen minutes of psyching himself up. Now? He was just as much of a mess as Peter, and Jake thought it was hilarious.

Tyler liked to surprise Peter at the precinct once in a while. He had even started taking the Junior Detectives program more seriously, prompting an awkward conversation with Holt.

Now, though, he was sitting in an extra Decathlon practice, just waiting for it to end. Liz had called for a break, which was only going to be five minutes. She was taking the impending national competition very seriously.

Peter pulled out his phone to pass the time.

_Tyler: What time’s AcaDeca get out again?_

_Me: 415. Y?_

_Tyler: ;)_

Peter wanted to laugh, but just barely managed to turn his phone off as Flash dropped next to him and tried to pull it away.

“Who you talking to, Parker?”

Flash didn’t appreciate Peter’s attitude towards his party, it would seem. While the incident had been weeks ago, Peter hadn’t shown the slightest sign of embarrassment.

In his defense, he had been trying to adjust to a lot at the time, as well as chasing a criminal down the streets of Queens and getting dropped in a lake. Good times.

“Noneya.” Peter shoved his phone in his pocket, walking over to his bookbag and grabbing Kevin’s latest book out of it, _The Picture of Dorian Gray_. He had post-its sticking out of it everywhere, small notes scrawled in an awkward shorthand. He liked the book well enough, and hopefully it would shut Flash up if he wasn’t paying him any attention.

Unfortunately, that attracted someone else’s attention. MJ took the seat to his left. “That book was good. Did you read about Sybil yet?”

“Yeah. Pretty messed up of Dorian.”

Flash rolled his eyes as the two continued talking.

“I think her narrow lens of focus was self-destructive to begin with. It began on the stage, and that gave her unrealistic ideals of humanity and romance. When she met Dorian, she didn’t think about why he was so enamored so quickly.”

Peter nodded. “I think there’s an interesting parallel between her poisoning herself and how her and Dorian’s affair seems to be the first thing that clues him into the power he has over people.”

“Like a symbolic poisoning of Dorian…” MJ nodded as Liz started to call everyone back. “I like it. Maybe you’re not so bad, Parker. Tell that friend of yours, Wanda, she’s good for you.”

“What?”

MJ’s eyebrows drew together. “That chick that always hangs around?”

Wanda had decided to stay at the high school after everything, having enjoyed it. Peter and Tony thought she was nuts, but she was insistent.

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t believe it at first, but it is true you guys hang out a lot. You’re not dating?”

Peter shook his head. “Nah. I’m dating someone I met at work.”

MJ smirked. “Cool.” She stood and went to her chair. He watched her leave. That was the weirdest conversation he’d had all day…

*

4:15 came along, and Peter wasn’t surprised to see Tyler leaning against the railing down the school stairs. Tyler was quick to pull Peter into a hug, walking with an arm around Peter’s shoulder. He had started doing that more since he realized that Peter was just enough shorter than him that it was not only comfortable for both of them, but that Peter fit neatly with his temple right by Tyler’s chin.

He had kissed Peter’s temples a lot when he first realized that, too.

They hadn’t gone beyond holding hands and kissing cheeks or foreheads, but Peter was fine with that. It was comfortable.

“So, you’ve talked about this sandwich place down the road from here?”

Peter perked up. “Yeah! Delmar’s! It’s really good. Best sandwiches in Queens.”

“You better be saying ‘in Queens’. That deli we went to before was pretty good, that one by Jake’s place.”

Jake and the others at the Nine-Nine had, incidentally, met Tyler before May and Ben. May and Ben still didn’t know much about Tyler other than Peter really liked him. They had planned to have Tyler that weekend for dinner, though there was something they weren’t telling Peter. As they were walking towards Delmar’s, Tyler’s arm tightened a bit around Peter.

“I heard you talking about it a couple times… That stuff you do at night.”

“The…”

“You know you saved my cousin back when you first got started?” Tyler shifted. He clearly didn’t like thinking about whatever had happened, but he wanted to share. He wanted to be vulnerable. “I was so miffed because he’s six, and he was suddenly super into Spider-Man when right before that he couldn’t get enough of me. But I was really happy, too, because he almost got hurt. Bad. Thanks for that.”

Peter didn’t know how he felt about Tyler knowing so early on. “Now?”

“I still don’t like Spider-Man.” Tyler smirked. “Last I heard, he overcommits himself and gets hurt a lot. Sounds like enough to make anyone worry. And Caleb is still obsessed.”

“You… You like _me_ , right? Not just Spider-Man?” Even if the idea of his boyfriend’s l

Tyler’s hand ran into Peter’s hair. “Yeah. I didn’t even know until two days ago, man. I just knew you got in a lot of trouble.” He was smiling now, fully smiling. “Gotta say, the whole nerdy bad boy thing was kinda cute. Like a turtle trying to look metal.”

“Come on, man!” Peter rolled his head onto Tyler’s shoulder. One thing he could appreciate, their relationship still had a lot of touching. More casual touching.

It was really, really nice.

“I wanted to be transparent with you. I get hiding Spider-Man and stuff, and clearly you have a hell of a support net, but if you ever want to rant about adults thinking they know best hit me up, yeah? I’m more than happy to listen.”

They kept walking, and Peter fought the urge to become a blushing, smiley mess when Tyler kissed his temple as they walked in.

“The usual, Mister Delmar!”

“I’ll have what he’s having.”


	32. Meet the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May and Ben have Tyler (and a surprise guest) over for dinner. Later, Peter gets in trouble on a school trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half of this is cute fluff. I'm not ashamed. Next chapter will probably have a lot more of the Nine-Nine in it, but for right now here's family stuff. 
> 
> I love you all! 
> 
> Come ask me anything on tumblr! 
> 
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

The weekend came too fast, and Peter realized too late what it was May and Ben were hiding. Maybe he should have taken Jake up all the times he offered to teach him about how to do detective work…

Because of all the things May and Ben could have chosen to do, they invited Tony to the ‘meet the family’ dinner.

“We thought it would be fun! You even said he already knows, so now if he has questions, Tony can help you answer them!”

Peter narrowed his eyes, but he knew it had next to no effect normally, and with May, who had raised him, it had next to no chance of being intimidating. “You did this to embarrass me. Don’t think I didn’t see the childhood photo albums you pulled out!”

“Aw, Peter, that’s my job!” May kissed his forehead. Someone knocked at the door. “Go answer that.”

It was Tyler at the door, early and with a pan of brownies he and a happy greeting for May. When May gave Peter a look, Peter made quick excuses to take Tyler to his room to hang out until dinner started. May laughed at that, shouting towards him, “Keep the door open, boys!”

“Agh! May!”

Tyler kissed his cheek before responding to May. “You’ve got it Mrs. Parker!”

*

They ended up talking about Peter’s schoolwork, which Tyler had started to blanche at as soon as he saw the open notebook on his desk.

“You’re kidding?” Tyler shook his head, looking away from the notebook where Peter was explaining his homework. “You actually understand all that? That’s amazing!”

Peter felt himself blushing. “It’s… Math and science are my thing.”

Tyler smiled at him, a bit shy, before he kissed him. This time… This time he kissed him lower on the face than he ever had. Peter was shocked at the contact on his lips. His senses started exploding as his focus went on Tyler. Tyler raised a hand to Peter’s face, and within a few seconds, he and Tyler were laying down.

Nothing about the kiss was what he had heard about from people and TV. It wasn’t heated, it was soft. It wasn’t harsh or aggressive, it was sweet. Even if they were both a little awkward about it, given they didn’t really know what they were doing, he could still feel Tyler smiling at him while they kept kissing. He heard a chuckle and a knock.

“Dang, kid. I’m glad we get to meet him now, before the two of you get more serious.”

Tony was standing in the doorway, smirking at Peter.

“Mister Stark!”

Tyler was looking between the two of them. “You know Tony freaking Stark? Well enough that he wants to meet your boyfriend?” He shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “Dang, you’re just full of surprises. Uh…” he swallowed at the look Tony was giving the two. “I guess it’s dinnertime, yeah?”

Tony laughed at the two of them, gesturing towards the kitchen. “You know it, kids. Come on.”

The two of them bolted towards the dining room to get away from the embarrassment.

*

Dinner ended up being interesting. May and Ben liked Tyler, that was clear enough. For all the teasing and ribbing at Peter’s expense, Peter was fairly sure Tony liked him, too.

Tyler was a bit of a nervous wreck at the beginning, but within half an hour he was beginning to relax. By the end of the night, Tyler was laughing at old photos of Peter, who was blushing and stuttering from the embarrassment. May, Ben, and Tony all shared a look when Tyler, who had barely made more contact than holding hands or touching a shoulder all night, kissed Peter’s cheek and said, “Don’t worry. My moms will probably show you all kinds of embarrassing pictures from when I was little. If they get their way, they’ll drag my baby cousin over, too, and then there’s going to be plenty of embarrassment to go around.”

“Is this Caleb, the one you were telling me about?”

“Yes!” Tyler started talking about his cousin, an arm staying around Peter’s back. May smiled at Ben and Tony, nodding. Tyler was a good first boyfriend for Peter.

*

It was three weeks later, and May and Ben had been looking forward to a weekend without Peter home. Being home meant having privacy, which meant they could turn the only night they both had off into an impromptu date night. But now they were standing still, in separate wings of the hospital, watching footage of their kid trying to save his teammates from the Washington freaking Monument.  

May had been turning over a bed from a patient that had been checked out by his family an hour ago, the TV in the room having been turned on by the other patient.

_“And today, Queens’ own Spider-Man was spotted at the Washington Monument today…”_

She nearly dropped the things she was holding, but she had to maintain a level of professionalism. Even if her work couldn’t be sure her boy wasn’t in that elevator, she wouldn’t be able to get to her boss for at least another twenty minutes, still having rounds to finish. She put her hands on the nurse’s station when she was done turning over the bed, taking a moment to collect herself.

“You alright, May?” Ron tapped her arm. “You look like you did back when Mary and Richard died…”

“My kid…” May shook her head. “He’s on that trip. I have to finish my rounds and get to Doctor Simmons. I need to get away from here, I need to get to Midtown High. I need to ask Principal Morita if he’s safe.”

Ron raised a hand, stopping May’s spiral. “Go. I’ll handle Simmons. He can’t stop you from checking on your _kid_.”

“You do realize he’s the biggest hardass in the whole hospital, right?” May’s eyes started rolling back in her head. “He’s even worse than Jacobs in pediatrics. Oh, god. I need to talk to Ben, we need to check on Peter!”

 Her kid was on the Washington Monument. Her kid had taken his work as a superhero to the next level, and it was terrifying her.

“Go!” Ron walked out from behind the nurses’ station, pushing her down the hall. “Your kid is in danger. I. Will. Handle. Him.”

May smiled at Ron, a tense, tight-lipped thing that betrayed just how worried she was about Peter.

*

Ben wasn’t faring much better. When he first saw the footage, he actually fell to the ground.

“Parker?”

Doctor Jacobs was notoriously intense, very rarely taking time off. He expected much of the same of his nurses. As such, when Ben didn’t immediately respond, he scoffed. “Parker, stand up. You have a job to do.”

“Sir,” Ben felt himself struggling to breathe. His kid, his _brother’s child_. The last link to his brother…

If he lost Peter, he lost one more part of his ever-dwindling family.

“Sir, I need to leave.”

“Parker, your shift ends in three hours.” Jacobs hadn’t even looked up. “You can leave then.”

Ben shot up. “My kid is in danger. I need to go talk to his principal. I need to… I have so much I need to do. Sir, please. I never take time off, but I need to take it now.”

Jacobs sighed, turning to Ben, stopping when he saw how distraught he was. He glanced at the news. “Fine. Go. You’re a hard worker. Take the next few days off.

“If it’s needed, bring your kid in for a check-up.”

“Thank you. Thank you, sir.”

“Yeah.” Doctor Jacobs looked like showing sympathy was making him nauseous. “Just… go check on your kid.”


	33. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May, Ben, and Tony worry. So does Tyler. 
> 
> Peter and the Nine-Nine start to get up to shenanigans again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it out to my uncle's safely and I finished this chapter that I started in the airport! I hope you enjoy it! I'll try to get tomorrow's hammered out tonight! 
> 
> Would anyone be interested in a series of one-shots dedicated to this story? Like, short bits that didn't make it into this story, but are still in-universe!

May and Ben hadn’t been the only ones to swamp Peter the second the bus driver let them off. Tony had shown up, too, looking harried and worried beyond belief. The other students, who normally would have been jumping at the chance to say hello and meet the man, were too occupied reuniting with family they had thought they were never going to see again to notice.

“You’re doing more training with Natasha from now on. Hell, I’ll throw in Clint and myself too. And I’m improving the suit so you can add more force if needed.”

“Mister Stark, that’s not necessary.” Peter glanced around, getting a feel for if anyone had heard Tony talking about the Spider-Man suit. “Really, I did fine.”

“Yeah, after they _shot_ at you.” He was fuming. Tony had known Peter was investigating a lead on the Vulture while he was ‘at the Nationals’ with decathlon, but he hadn’t anticipated him getting into nearly the amount of trouble he had. Given the kid’s track record, though, he should have guessed.

All Peter wanted to do was go home and sleep off the nerves that had accumulated since the incident. It turned out, though, that he wasn’t going to get his wish. Ned’s eyes widened as he noticed who Peter was standing with, and he was dragging his family over. Soon enough, others were noticing that _Tony Stark_ was talking to Peter. Was taking notice of him.

Peter grumbled to himself in Spanish, hoping to avoid tipping May and Tony off to how frustrated he was.

It was Ben that put a hand on his shoulder and, after a word to Tony, was guiding him toward the car. They stopped just beside it, and Ben pulled Peter in as close as he could.

“Jake and Amy are at the house. They’re using the pull-out bed on the couch tonight, but they wanted to see you. Rosa said she was going to come by in the morning.”

Ben still hadn’t let go.

“You really scared us, Peter. What were you thinking?”

“I just didn’t want them to get hurt.”

Ben nodded, a hand in Peter’s hair. “Well, just be more careful, okay? We were terrified when we saw you on the Monument.”

Peter nodded, letting go of his bag to hug Ben a little tighter. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had been just as afraid as they were. It was one thing to be swinging from a web he knew could hold him, but slipping around, despite his adhesion capabilities, from the Washington Monument?

He didn’t plan on repeating the experience. Ever.

*

Jake and Amy shot up from the bed the second the door opened. They hadn’t even managed to fall asleep, just doze here and there as they waited on news about Peter. Jake didn’t even wait for Peter to put his bag down, he just grabbed him and didn’t let go, lifting him off the ground.

“You’re never leaving New York again if this is what happens when you do.”

“I second that.” Amy was standing behind him, waiting for him to let go of Peter.

“I’m not letting him go, Ames.”

“He needs to breathe, Jake.”

Peter shook his head. “Nah. I’ll be fine. Maybe if he crushes enough ribs I don’t have to deal with school on Monday.”

“Fat chance, kid.” Tony edged his way into the apartment. “Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault.” Peter’s voice was far raspier now as he ran out of air. Jake finally let him down, and Peter sighed. “I love you all, but all I really want to do right now is sleep. For like, a year.”

May nodded, gently prodding him towards his room. “You’ve earned it.” When they stopped outside his room, she kissed his forehead. “Come get us if you need us, alright?”

Peter nodded, barely registering the comment. As soon as he hit the bed, he was out like a light. He didn’t even see the text that came through his phone.

_Tyler: You’re safe, right?_

*

Tyler barely slept that night. He had texted Peter again at midnight, but hadn’t heard back from him. If there was one thing he knew, it was that while Peter made it out alive, there was always a chance he was injured and not saying a damn thing.

“You idiot…”

He rolled over. Sunday morning. His moms would be wanting to take him to church today, but after seeing the news and hearing his boyfriend was there, they had given him a pass for this week and a promise to bring something back for him to eat when they came home.

His phone dinged. Then again. Then again. He really liked to doubletext.

_Peter: omg I’m so sorry_

_Peter: I was dead last night._

_Peter: Not literally. Just really tired._

_Peter: I’m fine though. No major injuries. Nothing broken._

Tyler laughed at that. He tapped out a response, relishing in the relief of knowing Peter was safe.

_Me: For once. Might be smart to stay away from the Mom Squad for a bit. They heard about the accident at the Monument and thought you were in the elevator. They’re worried._

_Peter: Well they’re not wrong._

_Me: You will be locked in the basement and never let out if they knew you were the masked spider that did something that reckless. They’ve been ranting about your ‘poor parents’ since they saw the footage._

Peter took another few minutes to respond. Knowing he was safe, though, was enough for Tyler to force himself out of bed and into the kitchen for some water. Was this how Pepper Potts felt dealing with Iron Man? It was terrifying.

When Peter did respond, it was with a picture. His eyes were crossed, and his hair was a wreck. He looked like a total dork, and seeing something so normal and mundane settled the last edges of worry. Peter would be fine. He always had been before, and if Tony Stark had anything to do (from what Tyler had seen), he always would be.

Physically, anyway.

*

His classmates hedged around him the first few days back. It was nice. It meant that they still thought of him, at least a bit, as Peter Parker, the total dork that had smarts but no social finesse.

Flash, surprisingly, wasn’t the first person to break the tense wall around him. It was Mister Harrington.

“Peter, how do you know Doctor Stark?”

Oh, yeah. Peter forgot Tony had doctorates sometimes. The man was so chill, and preferred to be called Tony as opposed to anything else. He scrambled for the cover story he and Natasha had made up. “I have an internship at his company. I met him after an accident in R&D.”

Mister Harrington looked skeptical. “Stark Industries gives out very few internships to undergraduate students. They rarely ever give them to high school students.”

“I know. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to apply. And, hey, it worked out!”

That prompted Flash and some of the other decathlon team members to start asking questions. Peter made quick excuses after the first person to leave. There went his normal for the next few days, minimum.

*

His first day at the precinct after the D.C. incident was different. Instead of incessant worrying over him, he had the team going out of their way to act normal around him, which, of course, meant they were acting like complete nutjobs.

Jake had even tried to organize his desk.

_“I do that. Just because I’m a mess most of the time doesn’t mean I’m always a mess.”_

Peter had enough of it within an hour, after Rosa tried to restrain herself from threatening Scully.

“Guys, I’m fine. Stop walking on eggshells.”

Rosa rose an eyebrow at Amy. “See, Santiago. Told you he wouldn’t appreciate this.”

“I just worried that the events at the Monument may have traumatized you, in which case I didn’t want any of us to trigger something and not realize it.”

Peter shook his head. “Well, I’m fine. Besides, Tony’s got me talking to someone about it because he’s just as weird as the rest of you about my health.”

Rosa punched his arm. “We worry because we care. Now if you say that’s weird, I’ll pass that information off to her, and you know she won’t go easy on you for it.”

Peter paled. “No reason to tell her. None at all.”

“Who’s ‘her?” Jake looked genuinely confused. Peter jumped in before Rosa came up with an answer.

“Rosa’s really scary girlfriend.”

Rosa rolled her eyes. “I’m dating the chick that’s been training him. Natasha.”

“I remember Natasha!” Jake’s eyes lit up before he halted. “Wait. Is that even safe? Isn’t that, like, way too much murder energy in one place?”

Rosa smirked, but didn’t answer. Peter, being the wise one between Jake and Peter, waited before leaning in and whispering. “It is. Way too much.”

“I heard that, Parker.”

Peter stuck his tongue out at Rosa, fully prepared to run when she started charging towards him. He hid behind Gina, who made an indignant noise at being used as a shield.

“Peter Benjamin Parker, I did not agree to this!”

“Come on, Gina. She might not kill you!”

“You think a human shield will stop her?” Gina shook her head. “For this, you have to do the video.”

“What? Gina, no! If I miss anything, I’ll fall off the building and die.”

“But you won’t miss!” Gina scoffed. “You can even do it out of the suit, build up some cred!”

“It’s a terrible idea! Besides, sarge would never let me do it, much less use him as a landing platform!”

Jake raised a hand. “Dude, ever since that spider bite you weigh literally nothing. I’ll be your landing platform!”

Peter raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Yeah… You think you can take that?”

“Of course, I can!”

Peter shook his head. Rosa had stopped advancing, intrigued. “Fine. I’ll do the damn video. But I will not wear the suit! We have to tone it down if we’re going to do this. Pick a day, and I’ll do it.”

Gina’s smile could cut glass. Peter was going to regret this so much. Thankfully, May and Ben didn’t follow Gina’s little precinct YouTube channel. If they saw this video, he would be dead. Genuinely, truly dead. 


	34. Gearing Up and Enjoying Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is getting closer to finding the Vulture and getting closer, emotionally, to Tyler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First thing is first, I don't speak French, so if there's a speaker that knows better than me feel free to let me know how to improve that little section towards the end. 
> 
> So I'm going to start some of the one-shots in a separate document and I'll put a link in one of the notes once I start posting the tangential one-shots from this AU, since I've got at least one person interested. I'll probably put these in either a collection or series together, too, so if you want to click between them you can. 
> 
> I don't know that I'll continue this into Infinity War, but I haven't made a concrete decision yet.

Peter had gotten Aaron Davis to give him information on the upcoming weapons deals that were about to go down, and while he had texted Tony about it, he hadn’t heard anything back. There was no way that he was going to be able to let this slide, though. He hadn’t been able to hit any of them without May and Ben finding out – they were all during the school day, but he kept visiting Aaron, getting more and more information. They had never met face-to-face, but something about that let them be more candid. They weren’t talking to each other, but to pieces of each other.

Peter had, begrudgingly, befriended him. He had been hesitant, given he was Spider-Man and Aaron was a criminal, but Rosa congratulated him on getting his first informant, and Jake had just called him “Peter’s own Doug Judy”. As it turned out, Aaron Davis was pretty cool. He had gone to jail on a felony possession charge (unfair, in Peter’s opinion, given he had no priors or any history of violent crime), and now he was doing as much as he could to clean up his record. He had a daughter who was adorable. She had facetimed him once from her mom’s phone when they were talking, and had thought it was so cool her dad knew Spider-Man.

“Come on, man.” Aaron shook his head. “You’re turning my own kid against me!”

“Hey, at least she’s got a good role model!”

“Low blow, kid.”

“I was talking about you.”

The thing was, they had talked enough for them both to know that was true. Peter was talking about Aaron, and he meant every word. He admired Aaron, and Aaron would never admit it, but he admired the kid, too.

“Look, man.” Aaron threw a look to the side, avoiding eye contact. “I can’t tell you much. He’s been cutting people out left and right since you started asking around about him.”

“Are there any other deals going down?”

Aaron didn’t look comfortable. “Yeah. But I really don’t think you should be taking this guy on, kid.”

Peter shook his head. “I’ve got this.”

“Yeah, well if you die ‘cause of this, then you better not fucking haunt me. Something tells me your parents will do enough of that if they ever find out I gave you the information.”

Peter fought down the urge to correct him. He took the information Aaron gave him, and started planning.

*

Tony knew something was up the second Peter was actually working on normal, low-level stuff and devoting time to managing his priorities.

“Okay, out with it.” He rotated his lab chair, throwing his hands open. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Mister Stark.”

“You only call me ‘Mister Stark’ when your nervous anymore. You’re hiding something.” Tony gave Peter a look. He refused to meet his eyes. “Kid, if you’re going after that Vulture guy, you should be passing me some of that information. I can help you.”

“It’s… I’m fine. Really, Tony.”

“I thought Natasha was teaching you to lie, kid. You’re really bad at it.”

Peter shrugged. He still wasn’t meeting Tony’s eyes. His hand had gone to the hem of his shirt, twisting it between his thumb and index finger and stretching the fabric in that corner. Tony stood up, swatting his hand. “Don’t do that. You’ll ruin the fabric.”

“It’s just a t-shirt.”

“You’ll ruin the fabric, and then you have to explain it to your aunt and uncle. I’m sorry, but nurses are to be feared, and your relatives are scary good at their jobs.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Nurses aren’t that bad.”

“That’s what someone who grew up around them would say. Ask anybody else. The nurse is probably the only thing feared by Cthulu.”

“What?”

It was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes. “Anyway, point is, don’t piss off a nurse because they do most of the medical shit anyway and can cover their tracks.”

“How many nurses have you pissed off?”

“Language, kid.” Tony scowled, like he did every time he called Peter out for his language. “And I don’t like being cooped up in a bed, and that apparently makes me a problem patient, for your information.”

“Really? That’s hilarious!”

Tony opened his mouth to continue the conversation only to stop. “Nope! You have been paying attention to Natasha, but I’m not letting you change the subject! What’s going on?”

“I have information about that guy, and I want to dig into it a bit. That’s all.”

Give them some, don’t give them everything. One of the first lessons Natasha had taught him was that he didn’t have to _lie_ , necessarily. He could tell the truth without giving himself away.

“Well that better be all…” Tony looked uncertain. “I don’t want you going after this guy alone.”

“I won’t.” He didn’t promise. He couldn’t promise.

_Stark’s moving some shit upstate. From what I’ve heard, he’s got some interest._

*

He had two weeks to plan. It was homecoming, the night he was supposed to fight the Vulture, and he felt really bad he couldn’t ask Tyler.

“You’re telling me you get to fight your very own baddy and you feel bad you can’t go to homecoming with me?” Tyler ruffled his hair. “Dude, mine’s the week after. If you make it out alive and Stark doesn’t skin you, how about we go to that one instead?”

Peter could have burst, happy his boyfriend was supporting this.

“Are you sure?”

Tyler sat up from where he had been laying on his bed. Tyler’s Maman, a French-African woman with a bright, bell-like voice and a near-constant cheery smile, had, like May, insisted they leave the door open when Peter was over, but had also brought in some snacks for the two of them. Tyler grabbed Peter’s shoulder, pulling him a little closer so he could kiss his cheek. “I mean, it kind of sucks we can’t go to both, but if it’s because my boyfriend is going to fight some super evil guy selling alien weapons in Queens? Well… That’s just sexy.”

Peter knew he was a disgusting shade of red by the way Tyler chuckled before kissing his cheek again. Peter didn’t know that he would ever get used to how physically affectionate Tyler was. He liked to hold Peter, kiss him, and just have some form of physical contact. It felt amazing.

“I need an alibi. You could still go to meet MJ and Ned. I don’t think Wanda’s going. What do you say? Want to be my alibi?”

“Oh, even sexier.” Another kiss, this one closer to his mouth and a little lazier. “Just promise me, something, yeah?”

Peter nodded, surprised at the lack of hesitation on his part.

“When you go after this guy… I know you don’t want Stark knowing or anything, but… leave a note or something. If something goes wrong, he’ll know where to look.”

“I was going to wear my old suit. Try to keep him from tracking me.”

“You promised your uncle.”

Peter sighed. He was right. “Then do I go to the warehouse and say I just got turned around? He would never believe that. Not when Karen can show me GPS data and a path home.”

Tyler carded a hand through Peter’s hair. It made a lot of the tension evaporate from Peter as he fell to the bed beside Tyler, his head resting in the crook of one arm while Tyler turned to still pull his fingers through Peter’s hair with the other. “You don’t have to tell him anything, just take the suit that has tracking and can get help if you get hurt. If you want, I’ll call you and stay on the line as long as possible. That might keep her from calling Stark.”

“I like that plan.” Peter’s nod was cut short by a slightly dark look in his eyes. “I know he wants to protect me, but I have to prove myself.”

“No, you don’t.” Tyler met his eyes. Brown eyes a volatile mix of concern and affection, he moved his hand from Peter’s hair to the side of his face. “Do you see what you do all the time? Even if you aren’t ready for the big leagues yet, it’s fine to be a teenager.”

Peter laughed weakly. “Since when were you so wise?”

“Since I started listening to Terry and Rosa bitch about how reckless you are at least once a week. I heard Terry say those exact words once.”

That made Peter laugh harder. “Of course you did.” His laughter died down a bit, and he pressed a hand to Tyler’s chest, loving the feel of Tyler’s heart underneath him. He shifted so he was closer to Tyler. “Did I tell you I’m doing Gina’s video in a few days?”

“The stunt one?”

Peter nodded. Tyler let out the same weak chuckle he heard from Tony when he had done or said something that was objectively hilarious, but also slightly concerning. “Just don’t hurt yourself.”

“That’s not the plan.”

“Is it ever?” A kiss to his temple. Yeah. Peter liked this. It was slow, soft, and sweet. He rolled over, kissing Tyler on the lips.

“Thanks, by the way.”

Tyler looked confused. “Okay, first, for what? Second, you do know that’s the first time you’ve initiated a lip kiss, right?”

Peter laughed, pushing Tyler’s arm lightly. “You’re really sweet, that’s all.”

Peter hadn’t known it was the first time he initiated. It had felt natural, normal. Whatever this was with Tyler, whatever the last few weeks, nearing two months, had been, it felt good.

“Tyler!” Tyler’s Maman called to him from the kitchen just down the hall. “Lisa should be home soon. Is Peter staying for dinner?”

Tyler gave him a look. “Well, are you?”

“Is it an issue?”

“Not at all.”

Peter kissed him again. “Let me text May.”

Tyler’s grin was broad as he shouted to his maman. “Oui, Maman! Is Mom bringing home that really good tea she took with her to work?” His mom shouted an affirmative to him while the two started shifting to head out towards the kitchen/dining area in the apartment.

“God, it's hot when you speak French.”

“Just one of my many talents, mon chéri.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maman is apparently something kids call their moms in French, and one of Tyler's moms is, as mentioned, French, so... 
> 
> 'Mon chéri' is my 'my darling' in French and according to French Today it's the male form, so... 
> 
> Peter is totally weak for his bilingual, French-speaking boyfriend and that is a fact.


	35. Homecoming Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter starts in on the Vulture. His sense of timing could use some work though. 
> 
> (Homecoming will have three parts; part 1, part 2, and Aftermath).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so we're kind of closing in on what I had originally planned to be the end of this fic, but I might continue it. I don't know yet. Maybe a sequel or something set later in Peter's life or set around the time of Infinity War. All I can one hundred percent guarantee is that there will be a series of one-shots going up in the next few days, probably one a day or one every few days, that are connected to this story. 
> 
> And NewBinderSmell... Just you wait. Your Jake angst is coming up.

“Oh, god.” Tyler shook his head as the two walked towards the school. “Oh, god. You could die!”

“I’ll be fine!”

“No! You won’t!”

“Yes! I promise!”

Ned waved at the two. “Hey. Is this Tyler?”

Peter nodded, slinging an arm around Tyler. As the weeks towards Homecoming progressed, and as the two of them grew closer, he found himself initiating the contact just as much as Tyler did. “Isn’t he cute?”

“He’s…” Ned looked him up and down. “Not my type, but I’m glad you like him.”

Peter laughed while looking towards the hallway. “Hey, I wanted to show Tyler something in my locker real quick. Cover for me?”

Ned nodded, giving Peter a look. He had been thinking something was up for a few days now, and the odd request, Peter knew, would be enough to throw his suspicion over the edge.

“Do you need any help?”

Tyler and Peter shared a look. “Um…”

Tyler smiled. “You said he knows, right?”

Peter nodded.

“We need someone in the chair. Someone who gets all that computer mumbo jumbo.”

“Really?” Ned’s eyes lit up. He glanced at Peter. “You want me to be your guy in the chair?”

Peter looked at Tyler then nodded. “Yeah! Um… Yeah. We’ll hook the suit up, and you can use that as a chance to get the information on your laptop. Maybe hang out in an empty classroom or something…”

Ned started down the hallway with them, starting to get even more excited seeing Peter lift a set of lockers and get the suit, which he had stashed at school after telling Tony he wouldn’t be patrolling that week because of his schoolwork (which he had been proud of, and that stung a bit, but Peter had to ignore it if he wanted to do this).

“So, I need you to do me a huge favor. There’s a tracker in my suit-“

“Absolutely not.” Tyler grabbed Peter’s arm, turning him towards him. “You are not disabling that. If something happens, that’s how Stark’s gonna find you, and I don’t want anything getting in the way of that. I’m not losing you.”

They had been dancing around it for a while now. Neither of them had said it, but it was there, beneath the surface. May and Ben saw it. Lisa and Adalene saw it.

But they _hadn’t said it._

Peter rolled his eyes. “Fine. I won’t disable the tracker.”

Tyler got a look in his eyes. “Ned, can you send it to my phone, too? Just in case?”

Ned had plugged the suit into the computer, pulling up the code and looking through it. “I mean, this is some really sophisticated stuff, but I’ll do my best. What’s your number?”

Tyler prattled it off, his focus entirely on Ned. It was something Peter admired – when he spoke to you, it didn’t matter who you were, Tyler’s entire focus was on you and what you were saying. He remembered the details.

A finger tapped his face, and he realized he was staring.

“Earth to Parker,” a hand to his cheek, the thumb brushing just under his eyes. “You’re sure you can’t call in back-up on this? Sure you don’t want to get someone to help you?”

“I… Um, I. No. No backup.” Peter swallowed. He always got distracted by Tyler so easily. Ned unhooked the suit from his laptop.

“I sent tracking data to Tyler’s phone and my computer.” He gave Peter a look. “You better make it out alive. I don’t know how I’d explain it to Tony Stark that I helped you get killed. May might just kill me, and as nice as Ben is, he might let her.”

“They wouldn’t kill you.”

Ned rolled his eyes. “I’m going to find a better classroom to camp out in. I don’t want to get caught.”

Peter nodded, something coming to him. He went to the teacher’s desk, grabbing two sheets of paper and a pen. He scrawled two phone numbers on each and handed one to Ned and the other to Tyler.

“You don’t save these numbers and you don’t give them to anyone. You destroy these later. They’re Tony and Happy’s numbers. If something happens, if I say to, call them. Okay?”

The two of them nodded.

“Tyler, can I talk to you real quick?”

"I'll be in the robotics lab if you need me." Ned waved at them, scrawling the room number on Tyler's sheet when requested.

He felt the nerves in his gut. He had to say it, say _something_ before he did this. He had avoided thinking about it as long as he could, but he could die on this mission. He made quick work of changing and walked out with Tyler, Ned a little ways ahead of them.

The second they were clear of the door and Ned had started heading down to the robotics classroom, Peter pushed Tyler against the wall, holding him by the lapels of his suit and kissing him, this one the first kiss there was heat and intensity in it, where it wasn’t just affectionate. Tyler seemed floored at first, not expecting it. Then, he gently pushed Peter off of him. “What was that?”

“I…” Peter met Tyler’s eyes. There wasn’t anger, more of a worry and a genuine fear for Peter. He could do this. He had to. “I know it’s terrible timing, but, uh, I could die. I don’t want to. I don’t plan on it, but when does anyone ever, right?”

“Peter, are you okay?”

Peter inhaled, kissing Tyler again, this time softer. This time affectionate, like so many of their casual touches that Peter loved. “I love you. So much. If something happens, I just wanted you to know.

“I gotta go. Call me in five minutes so if Tony calls the line is busy.”

*

Tyler took a minute to gather his thoughts after Peter said that, and by the time he went to call out to him, he was gone. He shook his head, sighing.

“First time one of us says that, and you’re running off to fight someone.” Tyler chuckled. “Peter, you beautiful idiot.”

He waited the five minutes before calling Peter, using the time to find Ned and set up shop beside him.

“Your friend is something else.”

“What clued you in?” Ned was smiling. Tyler knew the two of them had gotten on well since they were kids, and it was nice having someone else to talk to about Peter.

“This time? His sense of timing.” Tyler breathed out a laugh as the line rang, still feeling some of the shock and awe and fire from Peter’s confession. “So dramatic.”

Ned laughed at that as Peter picked up.

*

The call cut out about twenty minutes later. Peter had gone first to the warehouse Aaron Davis had told him about, and he had spoken to someone. Said something about how the guy had terrible aim.

Then there was the sound of crashing and the call cut out. By the time Ned had pulled up any data from the suit – which just, at this point, said it had undergone significant damage and giving little hope about the status of the wearer – Tyler was already ripping the piece of paper Peter had given him out of his pocket.

The first number kept ringing, going until the voicemail message started playing. Tyler growled at that. His heart was racing.

He hadn’t gotten to say it back, he hadn’t gotten to say it _period_. He couldn’t lose Peter, not when they had so much in front of them. Not when they were fucking _teenagers_.

He dialed the second number, starting to shake.

“Yes, hello, who is this?”

It didn’t sound like Stark, so he shot for his best guess.

“Is this Happy Hogan?”

“How’d you get this number?”

Tyler didn’t waste any time. He had the man’s attention, he couldn’t risk him hanging up. “It’s about Peter, sir. Parker? I think he’s in trouble.”

“What? I thought he was at that stupid dance. Wait, who are you?”

Tyler opened his mouth to answer when his phone started ringing. Ned was cheering.

“I got him back!”

“Sir, I’ll be right back with you.”

Tyler hung up to answer Peter’s call. “What the hell!?”

Peter was coughing and wheezing. “I’m fine, I promise!”

“You don’t sound fine!” Tyler fought back tears. This was so much. He knew that going in. Logically, it only made sense. But knowing and living were two different things.

“I promise. I know where he’s going, and the advantage is right now he thinks I’m dead! I’ll get the drop on him!”

Tyler groaned. “You’re staying in for like, a week, at least after this. You hear me? And I’m not leaving your side. I’m going to fucking make sure all your injuries are being taken care of. You don’t get to die on me yet.”

“I’m sorry.”

Tyler sighed. “I know. And I’ll say… I’ll tell you… I’ll say _that_ when I see you face to face next, alright?”

Peter chuckled, and then Tyler heard wind. “I might break up or be hard to hear for a while. Love you.”

And all Tyler could do was listen to the rest of Peter’s adventure, worrying constantly from the classroom while sitting next to Peter’s best friend. That’s when he made a decision.

“I’m going to call you back in a minute, Peter. I have to plug in.”

There was a grunt on the other end, and as loathe as he was to do it, Tyler hung up.

*

Happy spent a few minutes on the line before hanging up. If the kid had given his number out and someone had used it for a prank call, he was going to have serious issues doing anything for that kid again.

Tony came downstairs from the upper floor of the penthouse. “Who was that?”

“Some kid saying Peter was in trouble. I didn’t recognize the voice, though, so I don’t know if someone just grabbed the number off his phone.”

“Isn’t he at homecoming tonight? Besides, he told me he wasn’t patrolling this wee-. That son of a bitch.” Tony shook his head. Through the frustration, Happy could see a bit of pride in his eyes. He understood the feeling – Peter was the kind of kid to pull off some of the most ridiculous things, and while it was frustrating, his pure talent for pulling off the seemingly impossible was beginning to rival Tony’s own, and was something to be proud of.

“FRIDAY,” Tony glanced up at the ceiling, his face creasing in worry. “Pull up any and all data from the Spider-Man suit that was recorded today.”


	36. Homecoming Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's fight wraps up, and Tyler underestimated just how much damage his body took.

Tony watched the footage until he couldn’t. Until he saw the kid, his kid, under the rubble of a building and his own claustrophobia started coming for him. At least he had had the space the cave provided.

Peter’s situation didn’t even afford him that much.

“FRIDAY, do you have a location for that?”

“Yes, sir.” She paused. “Coordinates sent to your suit.”

“Thanks FRI. Send a memo to the other Avengers, tell them to get the med-center prepped and ready. Have Banner pull up his treatment record.”

“Done, sir.”

“You’re wonderful, as always, FRI.”

“Thank you, sir.”

*

Peter fought back the urge to curse as his foot got caught in part of the plane. He ignored it for the time being, the injuries from the warehouse making ignoring the pain a lot easier than it had been during past fights. Crashing the plane meant more injuries, and then taking part of the Vulture’s wing to the shoulder meant he was in the worst shape he’d ever been in.

He didn’t let it stop him from webbing the guy up, though.

“Tyler,” he knew his boyfriend was worried, but the fight was done now. He could happily tell Tyler he was fine. He was _alive_. “Karen, call Tyler.”

“Calling Tyler.”

It took a bit for Tyler to answer, but when he did Peter could hear the worry in his voice. “You’re okay, right? You’re not, like, bleeding out, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I promise.”

“Alright. I got Jake and Diaz, and we’re almost there. We’re like five minutes away, okay? Get somewhere safe and wait for us.”

“You were fucking brilliant to get the tracker data on your phone.”

“You can thank me later. Get safe.”

*

When Tyler had knocked on his door, Jake had thought, based on his expression, that he and Peter had gotten in a fight. When he heard that Peter was _in_ a fight with someone that was known to be dangerous and to have aided the very man that had put May and Ben in protective custody, Jake nearly lost it.

“We talked about this!” Jake was already grabbing his keys. “Where is he?”

“He’s moving really fast towards Coney Island.”

“He’s lucky it’s a little later, otherwise traffic would be a damn nightmare.” Jake was getting in his car. “We’re getting Rosa on the way.”

Tyler nodded, sliding into the front seat. “I’m getting the feeling recklessly taking on more than he can handle is kind of Peter’s go-to strategy for life.”

Jake nodded. “Unfortunately. Ever since he was a kid.”

Jake tried not to think about the fact that Tyler said something had fallen on Peter. That something had happened to take the multi-million dollar suit that was built by _Tony freaking Stark_ , king of nearly damn invincible technology, offline. He wasn’t very successful, and instead he found himself focusing on it.

“God, why didn’t he come to me? Or Holt? Or even one of the Avengers?”

Tyler made a noise, not looking at Jake. “He said he wanted to prove himself.”

Jake sighed. “I was worried about that.”

“What?”

“He goes to a super-genius school, he’s friends with a bunch of cops, and all his school-friends are high achievers. And, now, he knows the Avengers? Peter’s not competitive, not in the ‘I must be the best’ way. He just wants to feel like he’s on par with everyone else.

“When he was thirteen, he spent so long on a project for school that he passed out while walking to class. He had heard everyone else talking about all the effort and time they put in, and thought maybe he wasn’t doing enough work on it, nevermind the fact that his brain seems to work on an entirely different wavelength and had the project looking pretty damn good before that.” Jake shook his head. “He calls it proving himself, but May, Ben, and I have always worried it runs deeper than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“His parents were pretty well-known scientists before they died. It doesn’t happen as often now, a lot of their friends stopped coming around, but when he was little they all wanted to check on him. They always asked when he would follow in his mom or dad’s footsteps, when he’d become the next great biochemist or medical researcher.

“They didn’t take it well when May and Ben told them to stop comparing him to his parents. I think the damage was done by that point, though.”

Tyler sighed. “That sounds rough.”

Jake nodded. Talking about the past, when Peter was still cute and his reckless pursuits were running too long and getting an asthma attack was a good distraction. The silence that took over the car, though, had him tapping his hand against the steering wheel. Rosa was on the sidewalk, sliding into the back without prompting. Jake had barely even stopped.

“What’d he do?” She had a thick folder beside her.

“I don’t know.” Jake shook his head. “Tyler doesn’t know much either.”

“He got hurt. Bad. That’s all I know.”

Rosa scowled. “Damn it. We told him…” She pulled her phone out of her pocket, aggression coming off of her in waves. Jake heard it ringing and had a pretty good guess as to who she was calling.

“Nat. He’s hurt.”

Their conversation was short and clipped, as it often was on serious issues, but Jake had no doubt Natasha was already on the warpath.

“You said Stark has his tracking info, right?” Jake looked at Tyler.

“He should. Ned and I’ve got it, so he’s gotta have it.” Tyler’s eyes widened. “Shit. Ned!”

He texted Peter’s best friend, his thumbs flying. Once the message was sent, he became quiet.

Jake reached over, putting a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. The kid meant a lot to Peter, so by extension he meant a lot to Jake. “He’ll be okay. He’s always been okay before.”

“He… Something collapsed on him, Jake. If I’m not wrong… I think it was the warehouse he went to. He said the Vulture thought he was dead.”

“What?” Rosa leaned forward. She started cursing in Spanish, hitting the backseat hard enough to make Tyler flinch.

“Rosa, chill!” Jake didn’t like being in this position, he didn’t like having to take control of a situation when he didn’t even know what was going on, but he was good at it. Life had a sick sense of irony that way. “We’re almost there!”

Tyler pulled out his phone. “Take the next right. He’s hiding out down that road.”

“Alright.”

*

Jake started looking with the others for Peter, only to try to flip the poor kid when he grabbed Jake’s shoulder from behind.

“Oh my god, kid.” He pulled the kid closer, checking him over to see if he was hurt either by Jake himself or whatever had happened. “Are you okay?”

“I stopped feeling pain after the warehouse.” Peter nodded. He looked a little out of it. “I mean, that’s probably a bad thing, but I’m fine for right now.”

When he saw Rosa, he started limping towards her, his one foot dragging behind him. “What happened?”

“Huh?”

“Your leg is messed up.”

“Oh. I got it caught in the plane engine thing.”

Jake ignored the feeling of something sharp in his lungs. It wasn’t an actual injury, he knew that from the first night Peter had gone patrolling. No, this was all worry, all fear. He picked Peter up, throwing him over his shoulder. “If you’re that injured, you’re not walking.”

After the bite, Peter became lighter. He didn’t look like he had lost the weight, and he was still healthy, but he was light enough that even Charles could pick him up with relative ease.

“I’m fine!” Peter flicked Jake’s shoulder. Jake felt him sit up a bit, turning towards Rosa. “Oh, yeah. Rosa, I most definitely broke your fracture record.”

“That’s not an accomplishment, kid.” Rosa’s voice had the same concern Jake felt. She took Peter from him and laid him in the car, gentle as she could. She knelt in front of him, and hit the center of his suit, getting him out of it to assess the damage.

There was blood. A frightening amount if it hadn’t been for Peter being smart enough to try and patch himself up with webs, even if he had started to bleed through those.

“We aren’t moving him from here until I stitch him up, at least.”

Peter was sitting, his legs outside the car. His eyes were starting to look more vacant as the adrenaline wore off, and it was sending Jake’s nerves up higher.

“Oh god, oh god.”

“Stop panicking, Peralta.” Rosa stood up, pushing his shoulder back. “You’re not helping anyone like that.”

Tyler was standing behind Rosa, staring at Peter with his own panic clear on his face. While Rosa was in front of Jake, Tyler knelt down in front of Peter, grabbing his hands.

“Come on, look at me. Come on, Peter.” Jake felt his heart break as he watched Tyler, who had been remarkably held together through all of this, start to tear up. “Come on, mon amour. Please.”

Jake put a hand on Tyler’s back, reaching down to get him to stand up.

“Let Rosa do her thing. She can get him safe, and then we’ll figure out what to do from there.”

*

Tony landed at the warehouse, immediately starting to lose it. Was the kid still under that rubble?

“FRI, where is he?”

A new coordinate showed up. “This is Peter Parker’s last known location, sir.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

FRIDAY paused a moment. “Reception of location data from the Spider-Man suit hasn’t been consistent. Transmission has been split three ways – to my program, and to two cell phone signals. It would appear the programming of the suit defaulted to the nearest signal when the transmitter was damaged.”

Tony could have killed the kid for doing something like rerouting the transmission to other receivers, but he rushed to the location displayed. Landing in the street, he didn’t like what he saw. Tyler was being consoled by Peralta, and Rosa…

Rosa stood in front of Peter, who was slumped against the backseat of a car looking far worse for wear than he would have ever told anybody. His face was beginning to bruise, there was a bleeding wound in his shoulder, his ankle was twisted and mangled beyond reasonable repair, and his breathing was shallow and labored. As Rosa worked on field medical care. As much as Tony was getting steadily more angry with Peter for taking this on without asking for any help, especially after the issues with Callahan, his brain did what it always did when the kid was stuck in something.

He worried.

“Here, put him in the suit and pass him to me. It’ll take me about thirty minutes to get to the compound if I go top speeds. The suit is designed to put pressure on wounds to keep him from bleeding out, he should be fine.”

“Give me coordinates.” Rosa was leveling him with one of the hardest gazes he had ever seen from her. “We’re going with you.”

“Nat should have already sent them to you?”

Rosa’s face switched to confusion before she checked her phone. She nodded. “Alright. We’ll see you, then.” She turned to Jake. “We’re getting May and Ben.”

“They’re working tonight. Since Peter had the dance they picked up an extra quarter shift each.”

Tyler was the one that was putting Peter in the suit and carrying him to Tony. “Be careful, yeah?”

“Of course.”

Tony managed not to let the guilt get to him until he had Peter in medical.


	37. Aftermath Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's injuries are treated, Jake and Tony become Bros, and the immediate family starts to relax into waiting as they watch over Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, other than the little bit of Tony angsting after Peter's injuries, this chapter is like 90% fluff. 
> 
> Good news: I figured out at least one more arc for this story, so it's going to be continuing for the time being! The next one shouldn't be so canon-oriented, though, so that will be fun.

It took all of two hours for the entirety of the Nine-Nine to swarm the Compound, being let in by Happy with little argument. Four hours later, and May and Ben were there too, sitting with their friends in the common room, all quiet as they waited for news.

Tony made himself useful as best he could. He stayed in near the medical crew, in scrubs to grab and pass things as needed. Jake was sat at the top of the bed, doing his best to console Peter without getting in the way.

Peter hadn’t been sedated. There were a few compounds they thought might work, but none of them had been tested yet in favor of finishing medicines that would work for him, and Helen Cho hadn’t wanted to experiment with anything while the kid was already in such bad shape. Tony and Jake had to hear him screaming as his ankle was fixed, as his stab wound was sterilized and then stitched, and as more and more of his injuries were treated.

And they were extensive. Peter had broken both of his shoulders, one of his collar-bones, his ankle, and several ribs. There were fractures of all types in other areas, including his wrists, and there was evidence of severe strain and muscle damage elsewhere. If there wasn’t footage from just before the warehouse came down, Tony would have guessed Peter had been more banged up by the plane.

Jake was running his hand through Peter’s hair, the sweat from the fight having made the normally gelled hair come out of it’s straight pattern into curls. Jake, the goofball of the Nine-Nine, was staring at Pete with a level of serious contemplation that Tony didn’t normally associate with him. He was staring at Peter, his eyes blank of the normal joy. When he looked up towards Tony, his eyes were hard. Tony didn’t want to fight, though, not when his kid was on the table.  

“What happened…” Jake’s hand rested on Peter’s hairline. “There’s nothing you could have done. Peter’s a stubborn asshole when he wants to be. Distraction used to work – you handed him a Lego set or got him started on some project and you could get whatever you wanted out of him. It’s how I got his aunt and uncle’s names when I first met him. When he was older, though, he caught on.”

Tony sighed. “God, this kid.”

“You have no idea how many times I said that when he was growing up.” Jake laughed. “I got into a fight with an ex of mine once because of Peter. Granted, it wasn’t anything he’d done to endanger himself. He just liked to make jokes about her because she was a defense attorney.”

“A cop dated a defense attorney?”

“She was hot, liked Die Hard, and was stupid fun to hang out with.”

“Understandable.”

The doctors had finally wrapped up their work, pulling Peter away to get him set up with fluids and an IV with the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications they thought Peter would need.

“Peter’s always had a good sense of people, I’ll give him that much.” Jake shook his head. “He was like, eleven, at the time? He liked her well enough, but he always said she wasn’t right for me. I thought he was just agreeing with Charles’ whole thing about me and Amy, but he was right.

“Sophia and I are still friends.” Jake laughed. “She keeps trying to convince Peter to go to law school and become a defense attorney with her. It’s a joke, but when he was thirteen he almost considered it.”

“She sounds fun.”

“She is.” Jake laughed. “Scary in court, though.”

Tony would have to track her down. She sounded like she could be a good addition to the legal team, if she wanted to be. Maybe she could even join their humanitarian legal branch and do the legal work for underprivileged communities.

“Anyway,” Jake reached over and tapped Tony’s shoulder. “What I meant to say was that you don’t have to blame yourself for this. I’ve done it enough times with him to know the look, and you couldn’t have changed his mind on this.”

Tony smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“You do know he thinks of you like a dad, right?” Peralta’s grin told him that he knew that Tony, in fact, didn’t know. He had suspected over the last few weeks, but hadn’t said anything.

“Um… I thought that was Holt and Kevin.”

“The kid had a superpower long before that spider bit him, and it was adopting parental figures. He didn’t even know he did it, half the time.” Jake laughed. “Anyway, I have something to show you.”

Peralta pulled out his phone, opening a video. After watching it, Tony had to leave the room.

What had the kid been thinking?

*

The second he was allowed visitors, Tyler was on his feet and moving faster towards the exit than Tony thought any teenager that gangly had a right to be. It was only redeemed by the kid stopping short at the doorway and turning towards him, asking, “Where is the medical area?”

He didn’t even pretend to be embarrassed, looking instead like he had been up on one of Tony’s lab binges without access to a single drop of anything remotely caffeinated. The kid had been crying. According to May, his mothers had been on the phone with him at one point, but he had stopped talking to anyone around hour seven of the doctors working on Peter’s injuries.

The second they were in the vicinity of Peter’s bed, though, the kid was rushing, May and Ben hot on his heels. Tony hadn’t even noticed them following them, more focused on the exhausted kid in front of him.

“You want to crash, kid?”

Tyler shook his head. “Nah. Is he gonna wake up soon?”

Tony shrugged. “He passed out a while ago. I’d say the rest is probably good for him, though.”

“Passed out?” Ben looked concerned, taking his hand from May’s shoulder and moving towards Peter, pulling his fingers through Peter’s hair once he was close enough. “I thought you guys were working on stuff that would work for him.”

“Anesthetics were lower priority than medicines. We wanted to be prepared for infections or worse first.”

Ben nodded, still looking concerned. As May looked at Tony, he grabbed himself a chair and sat. May seemed to find how she wanted to word her thoughts. “So he was awake for a lot of the pain, then?”

“Unfortunately.” Tony shook his head. “Your kid is ridiculously stoic.”

“He always was…” May shook her head. “He always has been.

“Where’s Jake?”

Tony gestured at a different bed nearby. “He was exhausted. He didn’t want to sleep, but I told him to take a twenty minute power nap at the least, and he’s been asleep since then.”

May chuckled, ruffling Tony’s hair. “You did good on that one. He’s a worrier.”

It felt nice, to be in this circle. He felt bad for enjoying it when one of them was lying in a hospital bed with terrible wounds. Helen had said it would likely take a few days for the worst of it to be healed, and then he would be able to start getting up and moving. She didn’t want him training or patrolling for two weeks, though, and Tony knew that was going to be a hell of a conversation. At least he had Peter’s recent accomplishments with the Vulture as a bargaining chip. He didn’t want to glorify _seeking trouble out without backup,_ but if he had no choice it was a card he was more than willing to play if it got the kid to take it easy for a few days.

May approached Peter’s bed, grabbing one of the chairs on her way and sitting next to Ben. Tyler was standing near the head of the bed, taking over Ben’s role of pulling his fingers through Peter’s hair. “He loves this so much. He doesn’t even realize that he starts rubbing up against your hand if he’s conscious while you do it. He’s like a cat…” Tyler chuckled. The adults could tell he wasn’t sure what to do with his boyfriend laying on a bed in a hospital setting. “God, he’s a dork.”

That had May laughing harder than it probably would have normally. As it was, she was doubled over in her chair. “God, he is.”

Ben was smiling, gesturing for Tony to pull his own chair up. “We all know who he gets that from.”

Even Tony knew that one, and the room filled with a chorus of “Jake!”

Evidently, it wasn’t Peralta’s first experience with being spoken to or about when he was asleep, because he started pushing himself up. “What?” He rubbed his eyes. “What now? When did I fall asleep? Shit! How long have I been asleep? Is Peter awake?”

Tony laughed, and Ben turned to answer him. “No. You’re good. Keep resting.”

Jake shook his head, getting up from the bed and moving towards the stacks of chairs. Tony was suddenly glad he insisted they keep the non-surgical part of the medical wing stocked with chairs. “I’m staying up as long as I can. I want to be up when he wakes up.”

Ben shook his head. Jake had put his chair on Ben’s other side, and Ben took advantage of that to reach across and put a hand on his shoulder. The Parkers were very tactile, but Peter had always respected Tony’s space. May and Ben had done really well with him. “We’d wake you up.”

Jake scoffed. “Nah.” He pointed at Tony. “Quit separating yourself from the family and bring your chair over here.” Tony obliged, trying to find it in him not to be pleased when Jake pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Peter’ll chat your ear off before he’ll touch you if he doesn’t know your tolerance for being touched, but I say to hell with that. You’re in this family now, you’re getting brought into it full stop, and that means _hugs_.”

Tyler laughed, shooting a look that promised a fight at Jake. “I don’t know. He never had trouble touching me.”

Jake’s face screwed up. “I know you didn’t mean it like that, well, I _hope_ you didn’t mean it like that, but, god! Can you watch what you say? That’s my kid brother! I knew him when he was twelve and more interested in the newest Lego sets than he was boys!”

Tyler laughed, swinging a leg up on the bed and squeezing next to Peter. “Guess it must suck knowing times change.”

The bickering changed focus, and Tony let himself enjoy it. The kid was safe, Helen said he would make a full, if fairly painful, recovery, and he had a family now. He had people that were willing to drag him kicking and screaming into their lives, just so long as he knew they cared. He could work with that.


	38. Aftermath Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's awake and dealing with his injuries. Rosa still worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things -  
> 1\. Sorry this is shorter. It's kinda just supposed to close out this arc, though, since next chapter opens arc 2 (or arc 3. Not sure yet how I'm gonna divide these)  
> 2\. The one-shot series is out! It's been listed with this one in the Parker-Peralta series on my account, but I'll post a link here and in the end note. 
> 
> Simpler Days, Simpler Times: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15639522
> 
> Feel free to come chat!   
> Tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com

Tyler wasn’t even aware he had fallen asleep until he woke up to a hand in his hair and an arm around his waist. Normally, Peter would be playing with Tyler’s hair just as much as Tyler would normally play with Peter’s. Tyler glanced around to see Peter clinging to him in his sleep, his head tucked against Tyler’s side.

“Shit, mon cher,” Tyler knew Peter couldn’t hear him given how hard he was probably sleeping, but it felt nice to know that Peter had woken up. “I gotta get up, but you got me held pretty damn tight.”

“Mmm…” Peter must not have been sleeping as hard as Tyler had thought. “I preferred ‘mon amour’.”

“Of course, you did, mon amour.” Tyler reached into Peter’s hair. “Now, can I get up.”

Peter groaned. “I guess. You’re so warm, though.”

“I’ll just be a minute.”

May, Ben, Jake, and Rosa were all still asleep. Tyler was careful, slipping his shoes off and padding towards the bathroom. By the time he got back, Jake was awake and fretting over Peter.

“Come on, Petey, just tell me how you’re doing.” Jake was looking between Peter and the monitor hooked up to him. “That’s all I want – how are you? An honest answer, please!”

“I feel like shit.” Peter shrugged. “Everything hurts. A lot.”  Once he saw Tyler, he lit up a bit. “I’m changing your phone contact, by the way!”

“I never would have said it if I knew you would be such an ass about it.”

“I’m not being an ass! I like it!” Peter was sincere, always so sincere. Tyler smiled. “That’s why I wanna put you as it in my phone!”

Tyler kissed Peter’s forehead before getting back into the hospital bed with him. “Alright, alright. You’re not being an ass.”

Peter laughed, his arm going right back around Tyler where it had been before. “Are you comfortable? If you’re not, you don’t have to stay up here.”

“I’ll stay up here as long as I like.”

As the others started stirring, it was comfortable. Peter was awake, he was aware. He was in pain, but he was safe, and that’s all they could have really asked for.

*

Rosa and Natasha had retired to Nat’s room around midnight. Rosa had been intent on staying up until Peter was awake and could talk to her, but Natasha had walked out and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards a bathroom. Waking up, she was glad she had gotten to sleep, but she still felt the slight gnawing in her chest and gut that told her she wasn’t out of the woods yet, not until she saw Peter herself.

Slipping out of the bed, she gently swiped her hand across Natasha’s arm. “I’m heading down to the med area.”

“Give him an ass-kicking from me.” Natasha rolled over. “Or don’t. I’ll be down in about an hour.”

“Will do.” Rosa closed the door behind her, heading down towards the medical wing without so much as a glance at the common area as she walked. Other members of the Nine-Nine would know, having known her for years, that they could follow if they wanted, but that she wasn’t going to stop to talk at all. The Avengers that might have been there, as far as she was concerned, didn’t matter. If they were concerned about Peter, they could ask someone else. She had to see him before she could say he was fine.

And seeing him did put some of that guilt and worry to rest. He was sitting up, Tyler’s arm around his shoulder as they laughed at something Jake said. May and Ben were watching, that soft look in their eyes that they got whenever they were confident someone they cared about was out of the woods and safe. Stark was leaning forward, a hand by Peter’s ankle as he paid complete attention to the people around him.

“You idiot.” Rosa walked over towards the bed, lightly slapping at Peter’s shoulder. “What were you thinking?”

“OW! Rosa!”

The look she gave him was unimpressed. Peter rambled his excuses out, and they were so _Peter_ , that Rosa found herself rolling her eyes, even as she softened. “Fine. Whatever.” She leaned against the wall. “Don’t do it again.”

Stark laughed. “We’ve all been telling him that, but we’re pretty sure it’s a lost cause.”

Rosa barked a laugh. “You’re not wrong.”

“Hey! Is anybody here on my side.”

“Sure, mon amour,” Tyler fluffed Peter’s hair before jumping out of the bed. “We just know how you are.”

“When I glo-up and can walk again I’m gonna smoke all you bitches.”

“Hey, language!” May called out to him at the same time Tyler rolled his eyes.

“With the memes…”

“You love me.”

“The two aren’t mutually exclusive, cher.”

If he could mouth off, he was fine. Rosa would let that keep her from fretting over him like a mother-hen and ruining her carefully cultivated badass image.

“If you don’t need me here, I’m going back to hang out with Nat.”

“Tell her I said ‘hi’!” Peter waved as Rosa walked back towards the elevator. She didn’t respond verbally, just waving at him as she stepped in. He was safe. He was awake. She could relax.

*

The other Avengers didn’t know a lot about Peter. They knew he was a nice kid with a big heart. They knew he was stubborn as a mule. They knew they got along pretty well with him. They enjoyed his company and were willing to put up with the occasional science rant if it kept him smiling and bouncing off the walls.

They were all relieved to know he was out of the woods, but didn’t know what to make of the Nine-Nine. Clint liked them well enough – they were normal people, like he was, who were doing what they could in the world. Natasha had met them before and put in a good word, speaking especially highly of Rosa Diaz, who was sitting across from him and staring him down.

“Peter likes you.” Rosa hadn’t blinked. It was a bit unnerving. “Don’t fuck it up.”

“What?”

Rosa held his eyes. Clint felt himself blink, but knew she hadn’t yet. “I’ve seen the footage. You’re a reckless little shit, too. Since he looks up to you, don’t fuck it up.”

“I have no idea what you mean.” Clint was genuinely at a loss. He had his own kids, so he kind of got the idea of not encouraging reckless behavior, but at the same time – Peter? That kid was one with a laser pointer focus and no time to think twice. Clint didn’t know that he had influenced that at all…

“I mean next time you’re patrolling with him, make him start creating the plans. Make him start thinking these things through. Maybe then we won’t run into this problem _again_.”

Clint nodded. That was fair. Of the other Avengers, he was the one that most often tagged along with the kid, and it would be a good addition to his training.

“You got it.” Clint pointed to the hallway. “You and Tasha are cute together, by the way.”

It was totally worth the pen that went flying at his head to see the look on Rosa’s face. Yeah, this woman was good for his friend. His only remaining question – how’d they keep it quiet so long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more time! Link to the one-shot series: 
> 
> Simpler Days, Simpler Times: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15639522
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, and subscribing!! I love you all!


	39. Peter and Jake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has returned to the daily grind. School. Patrol. Work. 
> 
> Too bad one of those things won't go quite as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slightly shorter than normal chapter. Sorry! I just got back a while from a trip, and it's almost two in the morning lol! I"m going to have to get back on a normal sleep schedule before classes start up again, or get used to less sleep. I'm going to try for the former. 
> 
> Some Jake and Peter interaction, and some bittersweet stuff!

Peter’s first day back at school was a week and a half later, and Liz Toomes had moved away. Ned had said her dad was the Vulture – a fact that Peter hadn’t realized. He hadn’t put much into finding the man’s identity after a while, more focused on figuring out how he was going to get the man off the streets.

There was a lot of work to make up, and a lot of concerned teachers. Tony had covered for him, saying he had been injured in a lab accident doing work for his internship and then kept at the Tower to maintain a watch on him until he was healed. Ned had been excited about that – as much as the teachers were supposed to keep it quiet, they were only human and let a lot slip – and hadn’t stopped asking about it since he had gotten back in any of their shared classes.

“Parker.” Flash came up behind him, shoving him. His left wrist was still in a brace, and his landing made it throb. “Heard you were with Tony Stark while you were out.”

“Flash, leave me alone.” Peter shifted up, shifting lightly so that if he was pushed again, his good wrist would take the brunt of the fall.

“You didn’t deny it.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I know you told the teachers for attention.” He looked smug, his lips were twisted upward, sneering at Peter, and his tone reeked of entitlement.

“Yes, all the teachers would spread that around if _I_ told them. Besides, you really think I’d fake injuries and miss a ton of school? We have midterms in a few weeks.”

Flash scowled at him. “Your aunt and uncle are always working. I bet you wanted the attention.”

“Do you hear yourself sometimes?” Peter laughed. Tyler had talked to him about his problems with Flash and had probably been the most helpful of anyone he had talked to. Ignoring Flash wouldn’t work, but pushing back a little, especially in the right places, might.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Parker?”

“Well, the only reason I would need attention is if I didn’t know my aunt and uncle loved me. Now, I don’t know about your situation, _Eugene_ , but I know the people tasked with taking care of me actually, you know, _care_ for me.”

He felt bad for saying it, for even insinuating it, but if it got Flash to back off, it might just be worth it. Tyler was always saying he was too nice for his own good, that it wouldn't be the end of the world if he pushed back and stood up for _Peter_ once in a while, not just for other people as Spider-Man. Flash threw a hand towards Peter, and instead of letting it hit like he so often did, he caught it with his good hand. “Let’s not today, Flash. I’ve got plenty of other injuries, I’d really like to avoid another.”

Peter pushed his arm away and walked to class. Hopefully, that would help deter Flash, at least for a while. If not, Peter was back at square one – dealing with someone who hated him for no clear reason. He spotted Ned as he walked towards the cafeteria, moving to meet with him.

“Peter!” Ned started bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I was thinking, we haven’t gone through the SHIELD leak in a long time! Wanna do it again?”

He and Ned, once SHIELD files had been leaked, had made a game out of digging through them to see who could find the most interesting file or report. They usually gave themselves a week to do it, and then compared at one of their houses during a weekend sleepover.

“Sure. It’ll be fun.”

*

Tony didn’t expect gratitude. It was something he learned early on – the only people that expressed thanks would be the ones that were closest to him. Which is why he was surprised when Ben Parker had come up to him after Peter’s healing factor had finally started kicking into high gear and helping heal the wounds and thanked him for everything he had done for his kid, and for all the help he was giving him now. He was even more surprised when, the day after Peter was released from the medical wing, he got a call from May Parker.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.” She didn’t even let him greet her, which was another change of pace for him. Today was already shaping up strange. “I’m sure Ben did, but that’s not good enough. You’ve done so much for Peter, and I don’t know what we would have done about those injuries after Homecoming. Thank you, Mister Stark. You have no idea what a difference you’ve made for our boy.”

People he barely knew and he was getting thanked. Today was going to be a good day.

Still, he didn’t know how to respond to May. “Please, May. It’s Tony.”

She laughed. “Well, thank you, Tony. Your hard work is appreciated.”

*

The end of the school day meant Peter was going back to work. It was nice, in a way. He was back in the grind of things, back with people who made life a little more interesting. The people who reminded him why being just Peter was just fine.

“Good to see you again, Peter.” Charles gave him a thumbs up, but looked a bit uncomfortable.

“You okay, man?”

“I’m fine! I’m just happy Jake got his little brother back.” He sighed, pushing his hands out and down like he did when he was feeling a bit stressed. “You wouldn’t believe how stressed he was while you were hospitalized.”

“You were hospitalized?” Hitchcock looked up from a sandwich. “What happened?”

“Uh… Fell. Broke some bones.”

“I broke my pinky once! I was trying to get my gun out of the holster…”

“What?” Peter shook his head. “Nevermind.” He turned back to Charles. “What do you mean Jake’s been stressed? When he came by, he was fine.”

“I believe Detective Boyle was referring to Peralta’s habit of overworking in his spare time when something happens that is out of his control.”

“He _what?”_ Peter glared at Holt. “He said he stopped doing that. You let him?”

“I believed it would be best while you were recovering if he busied himself as opposed to worrying.”

Peter shook his head. He hated it, but Holt was right. “Where is he now?”

“Investigating a double homicide at a local restaurant.”

Peter sighed, shuffling to his desk. “When he gets back, can I drag him to the roof for a minute?”

“Of course.” Holt might have been strict about productivity and professionalism, but he could recognize the situation for what it was – urgent. Peter had seen Jake when he had been sick and working, and worse, he had seen Jake the time he was too injured to work, but insisted on doing so anyway. Peter had gladly listened when Jake insisted he took it easy and let himself recover, but now wondered if that was a mistake.

“Thank you, Captain.”

*

Two hours of homework and paperwork later, and Jake finally walked into the precinct with ten minutes left on Peter’s shift.

“Damn, I thought I missed you.”

“So now you’re avoiding me?” Peter stood from his desk, dragging Jake towards the roof-access door. Once they were outside, he rounded on Jake. “You have to take care of yourself, too. You can’t just take care of all the people you care about.”

“Peter, you almost died. I…” Jake pulled him into a hug. “You’re one of the best things to happen to me. You have no idea how much of my life changed with you in it. And you almost died, alone and afraid under tons of concrete. Then again, in a plane crash. Then again, in an explosion.

“Three times in one night, you could have died and I wouldn’t have known about it until it would have been too late to even be there for you.” Jake was trying not to cry, Peter could feel it. “You’re not allowed to do that. Ever again.”

“I might not have a choice.” Peter let himself wrap his arms around Jake. “But I get it.”

Jake shifted a hand to Peter’s hair, shaking his head. “I’m not so sure about that, but it’s okay. You’re here, and that’s what matters.”

Peter returned the gesture, his own hand going to Jake’s head. A secret gesture, one they hadn’t done in almost a year.

_I’m here. I’m right here, and I’m alright._

“Just promise me you’ll take better care of yourself and not overwork.”

Jake nodded. “Ames has been on me about it, I promise. She dragged me away from my desk a couple times.”

They stood there a moment. Peter knew it was hard on his family, the Spider-Man gig, but he couldn’t stop now. He was too deep in. He pulled away a bit, keeping one arm around Jake's shoulders. “I’m sorry, Jake.”

Jake laughed. “Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr!  
> putmymusiconshuffle.tumblr.com


	40. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's contest with Ned reveals some things he would rather not have learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading, commenting, etc! It makes my day that you guys are enjoying this!

That weekend, while Peter was staying with Jake, he brought Amy in on his bet with Ned.

“We’ve done it a couple times. It’s kind of like motivation to look through them, you know?”

She nodded. “I always wanted an excuse to go through the info dump. So much information about one of the most mysterious agencies in the world? Who wouldn’t want to read through that?”

Jake, who was cooking dinner while the two of them poured over computers, laughed and pointed. “Ah, this guy.”

“Well,” Peter shrugged. “It’s not your thing.” He clicked through some more files, downloading a set of video files and spy reports from the early 90s. “We, however,” a quick gesture between him and Amy, “find it fascinating.”

Jake stepped away from what he was cooking to kiss Amy on the forehead and ruffle Peter’s hair, smiling at them. “Well, you’re my nerdlings.”

“Ew.” Peter made a face, looking at Amy. “Ames, he’s being mushy again. Make it stop.”

She laughed as the two of them started a round of light-hearted bickering. “Come on you two, Jake’s got to finish cooking, and you and I have to keep digging if we’re going to find anything before your deadline. You did finish your homework, right?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah. It’s done and packed. We had a sub in history, so I did most of it then while he played videos on the projector.”

Amy nodded, and the two of them turned back to their computers.

*

Tony hadn’t touched most of the leaked SHIELD files. He really didn’t want to, given just how many of those documents, especially later ones, would be missions his father had set up or signed off on. He already had enough conflicting emotions about the man, he didn’t want to know what kinds of international intrigue and espionage he got up to when he wasn’t at home or working for the company. He didn’t want to know what laws he may have broken.

It was always something easier to reconcile with Aunt Peggy – she was a spy, and she wore it like she wore a nice dress. She turned it off when she was with him unless absolutely necessary (a certain incident when he was ten came to mind), but it was always there in the back of her closet, or in this case, her persona. She saw the small details and she figured out what was going on in moments. She was the first one outside of the family to know when Howard started hitting Tony, and she was the only one to catch on that Tony had kept quiet so his mother wouldn’t get hurt.

She was the one that put together that Howard’s death hurt a lot more than Tony let on. Jarvis had been helpful, and had seen some of the damage, but like Stane had assumed a lot of the damage came just from losing his mother. A lot of people forgot he lost both of his parents that night. They forgot that in the moment of his death, Howard Stark’s already almost insurmountable shadow became that much longer and darker. In the moment both his parents died, Tony lost someone who cared deeply for him _and_ someone who he had always been trying to please. Someone he had tried for a long time to make proud of him, even if that never happened.  

He had them all saved on a server. It was locked, and he had it buried so deep in his other servers that not even FRIDAY could get in without difficulty. Once in a while, he would click into it, read a file here or there, but he never did much more than that.

They were always files that had Aunt Peggy’s signature on them. Her mission files, especially the ones  were some of his favorites, and were the bulk of what he had read. It was like having a piece of her with him, even as she started to forget the world around her. After she had died, he had to fight the urge to delete everything but those files.

Maybe that’s why, when Peter started talking about digging through them on a bet with a friend, excited and bright eyed, even if the dump had been several years prior, he had to force himself to relax. He had to focus on the kid’s excitement, and not the content of what he was talking about.

“I’m gonna go through some of the videos with Rosa tomorrow, and the rest on Sunday!” He was focused entirely on the project he and Tony had started. Tony hadn’t given him all the details, but they were building him a car from scratch, starting with the engine. “There are about forty of them just for the five years I downloaded. I figured I could just binge a bunch of them in one night, since we have a school assembly on Monday that’s gonna take most of the day anyway.”

“Don’t sacrifice sleep for a stupid bet, kid.” Tony huffed a laugh, helping Peter move a part on the engine so it would work more efficiently. “I did that plenty in college, and it throws you off for longer than just a day.”

“I’ll be fine, I swear!” Peter shrugged. “I’ve done it before, anyway.”

“I’m going to pretend, for now, that I didn’t hear that,” Tony pointed a wrench at Peter, “And later, I’m calling May and telling her what you told me.”

“Can’t. She’s at work tonight and the hospital started really enforcing their no phone policy. It’ll be in her locker until she gets off shift.”

“Then I’ll call Ben.”

Peter paled a bit. “Aw, come on, Tony! If you call him, he’ll give me that disappointed dad face and _make_ me go to sleep on time.”

“Good.” Tony nodded. “You need to see that face more often, especially if you think pulling an all-nighter to watch YouTube videos is a smart use of your time.”

“Not YouTube videos!” Peter grabbed another part, asking where to put it before he continued. “They aren’t YouTube videos! They’re leaked files from an intelligence agency! Even you have to agree, that’s so much cooler.”

“Whatever you say, kid.” Tony shook his head, smiling at the kid’s knack for letting himself enjoy life in the little things. “But if your grades slip, I’m not taking the heat this time. The last time you failed a test, it was for patrol, and May just about gave me the third degree. If that wasn’t bad enough, you think you’re the only one that hates Ben’s disappointed dad face?”

Peter cackled at that. “Hah! You got it too?”

“Of course I did.” Tony pointed at Peter. “I’m responsible, at least in part, for the consequences of your superhero-ing. Especially if you’re coming here after school twice a week to work in the lab. That’s more time you could be studying.”

Peter sobered up a bit. “Sorry, Tony.”

“Don’t apologize, kid.” Tony flapped a rag at him. As much as he would have liked to ruffle Peter’s hair, they both were covered elbow-deep in motor oil, and he didn’t think May would appreciate that. “I’m fine with that. I like helping you out. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t.

“All I’m saying, is you have to manage some of this a little better. You’re pulling full-time schooling, decathlon, a part-time job, an internship, and your stuff as Spider-Man. That’s a lot. Sometimes, it means you’re gonna lose that bet.”

Peter nodded, turning more of his attention towards the project. “I didn’t think of it like that.”

“That’s why you have adults in your life. Teenagers tend not to think of everything.”

*

Peter didn’t end up going through the videos as he thought. He lost the competition, only having a mission report with code-name agents in Budapest. Something about one of them giving himself into the service of a mafioso’s wife and then accidentally marrying someone. His partner, some newer agent that he had a bunch of complaints about, had to get him out of the mafia and then out of the country while still completing their mission without anyone being much the wiser about SHIELD and their involvement. It was pretty funny, but when Ned showed him some kind of layered schematic for a weapon that looked nearly impossible to actually build, much less use, the winner was clear. That was added to the actual reports of people in the SHIELD engineering department _trying_ to build it, making it an even cooler find.

But that didn’t mean Peter wasn’t going to watch the videos. Tyler was staying over Friday night, and the plan was the two of them were going to watch them together. He had been looking forward to it all week.

But then they watched them, and something about one of the videos bothered him. A wintry road, a car, a person. It wasn’t more than five minutes long. Something seemed strange, though.

He did some digging while Tyler watched the next few, and as he dug deeper he figured it out.

He really wished he hadn’t picked the 90s. Wished he hadn’t watched the video. But he couldn’t change it now. His first instinct had been to text Jake – May was working and Ben was away for the week, but Jake could help, right? He hadn’t responded, though, leaving Peter to worry over what he had seen.

“Tyler, what do I do?”

Tyler sat across from him on the bed, leaning close to him to invite proximity if Peter wanted it. “You talk to him. You show him the video.”

“Those were his parents.” Peter sighed. “It was bad enough when _my_ parents died in an accident. If I found out it was murder? I don’t know what I would do… I don’t know how I would react.”

Tyler reached out a hand, offering a hug, comfort. Peter leaned into it, laying his head into Tyler’s lap. “It’ll work out. It would hurt him more if he knew you hid it.”

“I know. I know.” Peter sighed. “How do I tell him?”

Tyler was quiet a minute. “I… I think this is out of my league. You might want to talk to May and Ben about this one.

“If you really want to know what I would do, though, I would probably just say be straight with him on it. Next time you go over, bring it up as soon as you can and if he asks for space you give it to him.”

Peter could feel his eyes getting heavy as Tyler played with his hair, but he forced himself awake to focus. He reached a hand towards Tyler’s face, brushing it gently. He nodded as he considered it, his hand dropping back to his mattress.

“You’re right.”

Tyler shifted so he was lying next to Peter, his face just inside the crook of Peter’s neck. “If it does go bad, I’ll be here for you.”

Peter rolled over so he was facing Tyler, putting an arm around his waist. “I love you. Seriously, thank you. I was really worried.”

“You’ll do fine.” Tyler kissed his cheek at that, his own eyes drifting. “I can’t believe it’s only five at night. I’m exhausted.”

Peter laughed. “I’m fine with the two of us sleeping some of this off if you are.”

Tyler laughed, light and breathy and laced with exhaustion. “I am more than fine with that, mon amour.”

He didn’t see it until the next morning, but Jake got back to him, eventually.

_Bro: You gotta tell him. This is the kind of stuff you don’t keep secret._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you all thought I forgot about Bucky, didn't you? Nope! Just took a shit ton longer than I thought it would to get to this point. 
> 
> Also, that bit about code-name agents in Budapest? Bet you know who that was. :) I might be including that in Simpler Days, Simpler Times. 
> 
> Tumblr: putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com  
> 


	41. Most Foul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds out about what Peter saw in the files. He isn't happy, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Got today's update done before one in the morning! I'm proud of myself!

When he walked in the lab, the music was blaring. When he walked out, it was deathly silent.

In between… Well, he wasn’t really sure what to think of what happened in between.

Per usual, that Tuesday was meant to be spent in Tony’s lab, working on science homework or on a project with Tony. He wasn’t about to let it start without getting things off his chest, though, so he had his laptop shoved into his bag, the video queued up.

“Um, Mister Stark?” In a moment like this, it felt wrong to call him Tony.

He struggled to be heard over the music, the part of him that was hesitant, afraid of his mentor’s reaction, making his voice quiet. He called out again, walking towards Tony.

“Mister Parker!” Tony’s arms opened in greeting as he stood from his chair, finally hearing Peter over the music. “FRIDAY, my love, please turn down the music.

“Um, hey.” Peter shuffled where he stood, playing with his bag strap. “Um, you know that bet I told you about?”

Tony’s demeanor changed to accommodate Peter’s. He was concerned, Peter could see it. “Yeah. What? You find something on your mom you didn’t like or something.”

“Or something…” Peter swallowed. “Um, I was going through some of the videos I downloaded, and-“

“I thought you were gonna do that last weekend?”

“I was, but I ran out of time with everything going on.” Peter shrugged, pacing towards the table, pulling out his laptop. “I don’t… I don’t really know how to say this, but I found this video and I thought it was, like, really weird, and so I was, I was looking around in the files it was attached to, and-

“Mister Stark, I have it up on my laptop, and you don’t have to watch it, but you might want to take a look at the files.”

Tony walked over to where Peter had set the laptop, pulling up the files first. He started shaking his head, muttering to himself. Peter couldn’t look him in the eyes, much less watch as he looked through everything. He almost flinched when he heard the video start playing.

It was a long several minutes. When Tony had started reading, he had turned off his music, and now the two sat in silence. A glance at Tony told Peter he wasn’t even looking at the files anymore, he was staring at a place on the wall across the room. A few moments later, and he heard the light _slap_ sound of Tony hitting the desk with his hand. He looked up, meeting his mentor’s eyes.

“Peter, I…” he inhaled. Peter braced himself for the worst. “I need you to go home.”

That was what he was afraid of. Peter got up, scurrying towards the door before Tony called him back.

“You forgot your laptop.” The laptop Tony had got after seeing his old, homebuilt computer, but Peter didn’t want to point that out. When he walked over, Tony put a hand on his shoulder. Peter was still tense, though, and he didn’t expect it when Tony pulled him in for a hug. “You… You were incredibly brave for telling me. Really. I appreciate it. You could have buried this, hidden it, and you didn’t.

“I’m not just grateful, kid, I’m proud. That took some guts. I’m not asking you to leave forever, or anything. I just need some time to…”

“Alright.” Peter returned the hug now that he knew he didn’t have to worry about having burnt a bridge, instead focusing his worried energy on Tony. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

Tony pushed a hand through Peter’s hair. He held him another minute and Peter pretended not to notice how Tony shuddered a moment, how something wet fell on the skin by his shirt collar.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, kid. Really.” Tony pulled away and turned from Peter, grabbing a random tool off the table. “Just… Like I said, let me have some space to work through this.”

“Okay. Yeah, yeah, okay. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool…”

“Kid, you’re doing it again.” Tony laughed. “You’ve been spending too much time with Jake. Now, skedaddle!”

“Alright.” Peter nodded as he slipped his computer in his bag and headed towards the door. “Should I, like, train with Nat or Clint or something?”

“If you want, kid.”

*

Tony watched the kid go, waiting until he was more confident he wouldn’t be overheard by a fifteen year-old with enhanced senses. He had held his cool while the kid was in the room, something that had surprised him. Since he had looked through the first file, he had been resisting the urge to break something or hit someone.

His parents. His _fucking parents._

And if he wasn’t mistaken… He knew that face, and he didn’t know how he felt about that. The hair was longer, and it had a mask on, so maybe he was wrong. But the footage from two years ago in D.C…. He would have to look at that again first.

Either way, he had to keep his cool, just for the next few hours. He didn’t want to lose it on the kid – he meant what he said. He was proud of the kid for bringing it to him, and he was grateful he hadn’t hidden it. But it hurt, it hurt him so deeply that he was feeling the beginnings of a panic attack as his thoughts spiraled around the idea that his parents were murdered instead of in an accident.

_He had always thought it was too perfect._

_It was too convenient._

_Why?_

_Why?_

_Whywhywhywhy-_

“Boss, would you like me to call Miss Potts?”

Tony shook his head. “Rhod-Rhodey. Call Rhodey.”

He was barely holding himself together when he felt Rhodey’s hands on his arms, pulling him up and guiding him towards the couch in his lab. Rhodey sat next to him, pulling him into his side.

“I got you, Tones. I got you.” A hand in his hair. Huh, that must be where he picked it up. “It’s okay. I’m here, you’re safe. Whatever it was, you’re safe.”

“He killed them. They’re dead, and he killed them.”

“Tones, whatever this is, you gotta give me something more than that. Who died?”

Tony was finally unable to choke back the sobs. “My parents, they were murdered. It wasn’t an accident. It was… They were murdered.”

Rhodey tightened his grip around Tony. “Oh, man. That’s… That’s… Tony, that is so rough.”

“The kid… The kid, he showed it to me. It’s. Oh, god.” Tony sighed.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“I want to.” Tony shook his head. “You were there for me when they died, you… Jim, I can’t thank you enough for what you did then, and I don’t even begin to know how to ask for the kind of help I need. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Tones, you don’t have to feel bad asking for help. I’m here for you, no questions asked, you know that.” Rhodey stood up, heading towards the sink to grab a glass of water. Tony hated that part of him immediately wanted to cry out for the solid presence that had been lost for the moment, but he didn’t have time as Rhodey came back, pushing the water into his hands. “You have to drink something. Then, you can tell me as much as you want. After that, we’ll get you some sleep and come up with a game plan. That sound good?”

Tony nodded. “Thanks. I…”

“No thanks necessary.” Rhodey put a hand on Tony’s head as he stood. “I’m here for you. Chug that down.”

*

Rhodey knew something was wrong the second Tony called him Jim. He had abandoned that name in college, preferring to call Rhodes ‘Honeybear’ or ‘Rhodey’. Jim became something that was reserved for the most serious of circumstances, for the times when Tony was grasping at straws of his own sanity and needed someone to help hold him together.

Tony didn’t fight it when Rhodey gave him the plan, which was a step in the right direction. He was taking the help this time instead of pushing everyone away. Years prior, when he had been battling palladium poisoning, Rhodey would have loved to help, but had been too focused on respecting Tony’s boundaries. He hoped he was getting better at finding the line between respecting a boundary and keeping his friend safe, but sometimes it was too hard to tell.

What Tony had learned that afternoon… That was rough. Incredibly so. Tony had swung from tears to anger very quickly, though, and Rhodey was glad he had gotten him to at least agree to a few hours sleep.

“FRIDAY, can you turn off that two hour alarm I know he set? And any after it? I think he could use more sleep than that.”

“Gladly, Colonel.”

He would forever be glad he had been around when Tony programmed FRIDAY. It meant he had a chance to slip a small ‘Self-Care Protocol’ in her systems. It wasn’t anything major – AI wasn’t his specialty like it was Tony’s. More of a pet project, than anything – but it meant that he and Pepper could get FRIDAY to agree to cancel alarms or lock the lab if they thought Tony was falling back into unhealthy habits.

“Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

Rhodey went back to Tony’s holotable to see what it was that triggered that kind of a panic attack. “FRIDAY, how did Tony find out?”

Tony had mentioned something about the Spider-kid, but Rhodey had been more focused on getting Tony to some semblance of calm, and then to sleep.

“Mister Parker brought in files from a bet with his friend.”

“Do you have a copy of those files?”

“Boss has buried all SHIELD files. It would take me at least an hour to access them.”

Rhodey sighed. “Probably best I don’t do this on his computer anyway. Can you pull the files off the internet and put them on my laptop?”

“Of course, Colonel.”

Rhodey nodded. “Thanks again.”

“Please be careful with Boss.” There was a pause. “He’s emotionally vulnerable right now.”

“Believe me, FRI, the last thing I want to do is let him get hurt. By anyone.”

Rhodey had a lot of work to do. He was going to help Tony with this, and he was going to shoulder as much of the inevitable search for the killer as possible. He wasn’t letting Tony face this alone – that would be too cold. Tony was his best friend, and he was going to need as much support as he could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a couple things. I totally see Tony trying to hold it together for Peter, because he actively tries to do better than his father did. His father might have become a yelling mess, but Tony wants Peter to feel safe coming to him, which means keeping his head about him and then breaking down after. 
> 
> I feel like for this, he would call Rhodey before he would call Pepper, if only because he's known Rhodey for so long and it's very likely Rhodey was there for him right after his parents death, at least in some capacity. 
> 
> If you wanna talk plot, I'm on tumblr:  
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com


	42. Back-Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey is always going to be there for Tony. That's a given. 
> 
> But he has some others in his life that are willing to help him out now, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I'm so happy you guys are enjoying it! 
> 
> See the end note for some stuff about this chapter, as well as my social media link!

Rhodey was holed up with Tony for almost a week. He stayed in the lab, sleeping on the couch and pushing Tony to sleep and eat when necessary. He remembered enough from when Tony’s mom first passed to know that making Tony eat regularly would make him sick. If he made him sleep, there was a good chance he would just have nightmares that would wake him into panic attacks. There was no point in forcing him back into the good habits he had started – he would fall into them as he got better.

“FRIDAY, pull up any and all SHIELD files dealing with the Winter Soldier.” Rhodey glanced over towards where Tony was resting, passing out after a seventy-two-hour research and lab binge.

“Gladly, Colonel.”

“I’ve told you a hundred times, it’s either Rhodey, or Jim.”

“Boss has programmed your only alternative nickname as ‘Honeybear’.”

“Of course, he does.” Rhodey laughed at that, glancing through the files. “Oh, god.”

There were hundreds of files that referenced the Winter Soldier. He was in for a long night. He had a couple tricks up his sleeve to narrow it down into something more manageable.

“Filter out anything speculative. Only stuff that has some concrete information.”

He settled in, keeping tabs on Tony through the night. By the end, he had a to-do list and a best friend that was starting to act a bit more like himself with each time he woke up.

*

It was another thirty-six-hours before Tony went down again. He had been doing pretty well, sleeping each night, before the information got out, and it warmed Rhodey’s heart a bit that his friend was getting back to a semi-normal schedule. Each time he woke up, there was a bit more of himself in his posture, in his gaze. The grief, some of which had remained settled even after the revelation, was starting to find equilibrium.

Rhodey doubted Tony would ever be the same after what would feel like losing his parents twice, but he knew that he would get the Stark charm back, if only because he had to.

Rhodey had found information that was disconcerting, to say the least. Having gone through as many of the files as he could, Rhodey had stumbled over the clearest link he could to the identity of the Winter Soldier. Of course, SHIELD had been keeping tabs on the most elusive assassin in history.

He had to talk to Steve, which is why, while FRIDAY kept watch over Tony and was ready to alert him if anything happened or changed, he was standing in the common room, asking the other Avengers to leave.

“I need to have a word with Rogers. Alone.”

“What’s so important we can’t hear?” Clint was throwing a knife in the air, putting spin on it and catching it while Peter watched on, clearly itching to try it himself.

“Look, guys, once I get a chance to run it by Tones, I’ll gladly tell you guys, but if I’m right about this, then the only person I’m currently sharing anything with is Cap.” Rhodey pointed towards Steve. “And that’s only because I think he already knows what this is about.”

Peter stood up, putting a hand out to Clint. “Come on, you can show me how to do that.”

“Nuh-uh, kid. If Stark comes out of that lab and finds out I taught you knife tricks, he’ll crucify me. If your _aunt_ finds out I taught you knife tricks? There’ll be no proof I ever fucking existed.”

“Why does everyone forget Uncle Ben? He can be scary when he wants to be.”

“Yeah, sure. He’s scary like a dog.” Clint laughed. “He’s super nice, and he’s protective of you. He’d totally rip someone apart for you, but your aunt is infinitely scarier.”

“I second that.” Natasha stood, grabbing a book off the shelf as she left.

“Everyone conveniently forgets Rosa.”

“We didn’t forget her, kid.” Nat ruffled his hair. “She’s just got split loyalties.”

“’Cause you two are dating.”

Nat punched him, not hard, but not gently either. “You were gonna keep that quiet.”

Peter cackled and ran out, Natasha and Clint following after him. Eventually, it was just Rhodey and Steve.

“What did you want to talk about, Rhodes?”

“You’re gonna stop looking for that friend of yours on Tony’s dime.”

“What?” Steve looked bewildered. “What do you mean?”

“Do you know what he did?” Rhodey knew Steve would never come out and say it if he did, and once confronted he’d have reasons to justify his actions. Rhodey was going to confront this first, if only so Tony could choose not to do it later.

“He wasn’t the one doing those things, Rhodey, he was brainwashed. They tortured him into submission.”

“Do you know what he did?”

“Yes, he killed people.”

“Wow.” Rhodey shook his head. “Never thought someone could say that sentence so casually. But that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“You mean…” Rogers shook his head, resigned to where the conversation was headed. To Rhodey's indignation. “I was trying to protect Tony, Rhodes. Honestly. He’s… He’s over his parents. He dealt with their deaths a long time ago, and I don’t want to dredge up any bad memories.”

“It’s too late, Captain.” Rhodes gestured to the elevator. “The kid found the footage on accident. You think SHIELD wouldn’t have information on the death of one of its founders?

“Look, if you want to look for your friend, I get it. You’re not doing it with Tony’s money, though. I refuse to allow that.”

 “Why? If we bring him in, we can help him and then we can maybe build bridges.”

“Cap, that man killed my best friend’s parents. You were still under the ice at the time, so let me fill you in on a little something – you weren’t there. Tony’s mom was his everything. And she’s dead at Barnes’ hands. He may put up this front that he's fine, but he had to bury his only living relatives when he was barely eighteen. Don't start talking like you know whether or not he's over their deaths, only to have it dredged back up thirty years later and find out a huge chunk of it was a lie. They didn't die by chance in an accident. They were murdered. And now, you're trying to bring their murder into his house.

“Either you stop looking entirely, or you start funding your own recon missions when it comes to Barnes. Either way, be grateful I don’t fucking kill you myself for keeping that from Tony and thinking it’s okay.”

*

Tony had the kid back in the lab with him about two weeks later. Because of the overlap with his weekend with Peralta, Tony found himself also enjoying the detective’s company as he asked questions and poked at things he probably shouldn’t have. Still, it was nice to have someone who was completely comfortable with him as Tony and forgot about his reputation. Jake was more interested in the robots or the cars than he was in asking Tony all kinds of questions about being Iron Man or about his past. It was refreshing, having someone content to engage him on something other than himself upon their first meeting.

“Oh, dude!” Peter shot up. “Did I ever tell you about the time Jake started a brawl in the Nine-Nine?”

“No?” Tony cocked an eyebrow, ignoring the notification that FRIDAY had given him (yet again) that there was security footage from the common room he needed to review. “Would you care to explain, Peralta?”

Jake gave a soft sigh. “Okay, it wasn’t on purpose. I was arresting a dirty cop, and we had the Nine-Eight there, and it was one of their own.”

“Still, cop starts a brawl in a police precinct. Nice.” Tony didn’t look up from his work to offer Peralta the high-five. The footage was going to bother him all day, but he wasn’t going to cut himself off from the world – especially when part of that world was an eccentric and excitable teenager that looked up to him and the man that was basically his older brother.

“Thank you.” Peralta turned towards the displayed Iron-Man suits. “Have you ever thought about doing nanotech with those?”

“What?”

“Peter was telling me about it. They’re like, super-tiny robots-“

“I know what nano-tech is…” Tony looked at Peralta and then at the suits. “Hmm… I never actually did think of it. It could be seamless if I did that.

“Tell you what, you and Peter can come and help me work on it next week, how’s that?”

“Seriously?” Peter’s eyebrows had launched up at about the same speed he launched himself at Tony, hugging him tightly. “Oh my god, Tony, that would be amazing!”

“Alright, alright, come on, kid. Get down. Your aunt’s going to want you home soon.”

Jake nodded and laughed as Peter ran back to the common area to grab his stuff. “I know nothing about robots. I don’t think I can actually help you.”

“Well, it’s never too late to learn, if you want. And even if you don’t, you’re good company.” Tony shrugged. “Invitation’s open.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll come for Peter, but again, I don’t know that I’ll be much help.”

“Awesome. I’ll see you then.”

*

Even after watching the footage, Tony knew he couldn’t let himself spiral again. He had done that too many times – he had promised himself when he had gone through all that shit with the PTSD after the Battle of New York that he would stop letting it happen. He should have made that promise back when he had fought off palladium poisoning, but the point remained that he made it. He had already started to earlier, but Rhodey had been compassionate and understanding and helped pull him out of it. He wasn’t going to again.

So he dealt with his prior commitments, he made the best of the time he had with the kid, and he avoided Rogers like the plague, because he wasn’t sure how he wanted to deal with the fact that someone he considered a close friend would hide something so major. By the time Friday evening rolled around, he dragged Rhodey to his floor and pulled out some scotch.

“You aren’t gonna binge drink, are you?” Rhodey sounded somewhere between slightly exasperated and extremely worried. “You’ve been doing so well the last couple of years, man.”

“No. I’m not going to binge. You get to cut me off whenever you see fit, even if that’s after one glass.”

Rhodey looked skeptical, but nodded anyway. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

The two of them sat across from each other, throwing ideas for projects at the wall in case something stuck, just like they used to do at MIT. They only ended up drinking a glass each, but Rhodey was fine with that. This Tony – even with the dark circles and the heavy look in his eye – this was the Tony he remembered from college. The man (boy, then, but there was no denying he had been innumerably more mature than a lot of boys his age) that so desperately wanted to trust and love, but was just cautious enough to stay safe from others, even if no one had been there to protect him from himself. A brilliant mind guiding a brilliant soul, as his mother had always said. She was one for poetics like that, and sometimes Rhodey found it in him not to scoff like he had all through his teenage years.

“You know, I think those Parker-Peralta boys have done you a lot of good, Tones.”

Tony smiled at that. “Yeah. You tell them I said that and I’ll kick you in the teeth.”

Rhodey put his hands up, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever,Tones.”

They would have to face the Rogers predicament soon, they knew that. It was the unspoken piece of heavy metal in the room, and neither of them was wont to address it at that moment. Rhodey knew, though, that Tony had at least some people at his back if thing went South. The Parkers, the Nine-Nine, him, Pepper, Happy… He had his own back-up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Tony's made some serious efforts to change throughout the MCU, which is why, while isolating himself and holding onto one person and avoiding his problems isn't the best way to deal with this, he isn't doing anything too horribly drastic. I figured someone who put that much effort in had to develop some serious self-control skills, even if sometimes we see his impulse control is lacking in the films. 
> 
> Also, Rhodey being the best bro in the world? Sign me tf up! And Tony has totally adopted Jake. He might not be a science nerd, but he's still at least kind of cool in Tony's book. 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr!  
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com


	43. Confrontation and Congregation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Tony begins to deal with his feelings about Steve keeping things from him, Peter finds an unlikely friend in the form of another low-to-the-ground superhero.

Steve had expected the confrontation to happen eventually. Tony was a man of fire and metal – he didn’t let things go and he didn’t bend for others. That it took so long for him to come to him worried him, but in the end it was probably for the best. When he first found out, Steve had no doubt there was anger there he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing in someone he considered a friend.

Tony stood in front of him, appraising. The other Avengers didn’t really know what had happened, but they had been able to read Tony’s body language well enough to know they should leave. The only one that made any motion towards hesitation was Peter, and that was to pat Tony’s shoulder on his way out and tell him Jake was bringing Amy by the next time he came over. It had almost seemed like it was aimed to distract Tony, instead of just inform him.

“You know, I’m really glad Rhodes told you to stop looking.”

“What?”

“I don’t know that I would have.” Tony shrugged. “I considered you a friend, and I don’t know that I would have told you to stop spending my money looking for Barnes?”

“What do you mean?” Steve didn’t like the general tone of what Tony was saying, but there was something hopeful in him – if Tony wouldn’t have normally said it, maybe he could agree to some kind of an arrangement.

“I mean that I should most definitely have told you that myself, but Rhodey took care of it. I mean that I…” he shook his head. “You know, it’s not important. What matters is that I agree with Rhodey – it was a really shitty move to hide this and then go looking for him with me funding it. Hell, had you told me I might have helped you out more.

“I would love to meet the man that strangled my mother. I have some questions for him. But the fact that you would hide it? Mmmm… Yeah, that’s not going to fly.” Tony shook his head. “I don’t care what your reasons were. You told Rhodey you were trying to protect me, right? Well you didn’t.”

“Tony, I didn’t know how to tell you without…”

“Without what?”

“I don’t know. Dredging up something you’d settled, I guess?” Steve shook his head. “Either way, it wasn’t Bucky. They tortured him, they manipulated him.”

“I get that, honestly I do.” Tony was leaning back, that ridiculous posture he got whenever he was acting like he knew something you didn’t. Steve hated that a lot of times it was true. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Doesn’t mean I have to like _him_. Doesn’t even mean I have to let him in this compound. Remember, I funded construction, I own the land, and _technically,_ all the weapons that weren’t signed over to the UN are still in my legal possession.”

“Tony, don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Act all petty.” Steve gestured towards where the windows showed the outside. “Bucky had broken out of their conditioning the last time I saw him. Who knows what could happen if he gets the proper treatment? You and Sam are always saying we all need to take better care of ourselves. Those Accords mandate psych evals and seeing a therapist after potentially traumatizing events.

“We could… We could help him. He was my best friend, Tony. I’d like to think there’s something left of him in there.”

“You’re still not doing it with my money.” Tony gave him a look. “If you can bring him in on _your dime_ , then we can hook him up with some specialists and see about helping him. Until… Until I have the chance to ask some questions and settle some stuff myself, though, he’s not staying here.”

Steve didn’t want to admit it, but working with Tony had taught him a little bit about cutting his losses, even when he hated to do it. “Thank you.”

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it because that man was tortured into submission, and I have some idea what that feels like.” His face looked distant and heavy, like he was remembering something he still didn’t talk about. “I’m still pissed as fuck at you.”

“I don’t see why. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“And yet you did.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, then.” Steve shook his head. “Tony, I promise, that wasn’t my intent.”

“Two things. One, that’s not an apology, that’s saying I’m too sensitive. Quite frankly, I think I have a right to be, given the circumstances. Two, I don’t give a damn about your intent right now. That was my _mom._ She died slowly, probably in pain, right after seeing her husband die. And you knew about it, and didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to…” Steve shook his head. “You’re so emotional right now, and this is what I wanted to avoid. You seemed fine, it seemed like your parents’ deaths didn’t bug you anymore. I didn’t want to cause you unnecessary grief.”

Tony shook his head. “It’s not your place to decide whether or not it’s necessary.” He took a deep breath, exhaling. It occurred to Steve that a few years ago, Tony might have just come in pissed, guns blazing, and tried to start something over this. The amount of restraint he was showing was admirable. “You know what, this argument, this fight, this… _whatever?_ It’s not going to get solved right now, if it gets solved at all. Leave me alone, alright? Just… if we’re not on a mission, don’t talk to me, don’t try to ‘drag me out of my lab’, nothing. I don’t want to see you or talk to you for… I don’t even know how long.”

When Tony left, Steve wondered if maybe he hadn’t thought everything through. He knew when not to push, though, for all his own tendencies to rush in and not think, so his plan was to respect Tony’s wishes. It wouldn’t do any good to push now that the information was out – he’d just have to wait for Tony to be willing to talk and work things out.

If that happened. God, he hoped that could happen. Steve went down to the gym in the meantime, hoping to work out some of his frustration on a bag.

*

Peter flailed as he fell from the roof of a building, not realizing he was out of web fluid. He was pretty far from Queens, tonight, meaning he would have to find a way back on foot, or take a cab as Spider-Man, and that was if he didn’t fall to his death.

Which, now that he thought about it, should have already – oh. There was a hand around his wrist. He looked up, seeing the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen staring down at him.

“You lost, little Spider?” He pulls Peter up towards the roof again.

“I’m fine, man. Followed a guy out this way that was acting shady. I’ve seen him up to some stuff in my neighborhood, figured I’d keep an eye on him.”

The Devil smirked. “Well, thanks for the help. You keeping Queens clean means that the rest of the Defenders can focus on our turf.”

“Defenders?” Peter smiled under the mask. “I’ve heard of you guys. You guys do some pretty amazing stuff!”

“You’re just a kid, aren’t you?” The Devil laughed.

“What gave me away?”

“Besides everything else? The fact that you say we’re amazing and you do the same thing.”

“Yeah, but you guys are… You’re, like, official.”

The Devil shook his head. Peter felt like this didn’t match up with the super serious guy he’d seen in pictures and videos. He was looser. Not by much, but a bit. The Devil gestures for him to follow.

“Alright, kid. Where do you need to go?”

“What?”

“Your turf is Queens and Brooklyn. Where are you going home? You have to go home somewhere, right?” He pulled out a phone. “I have a friend or two that can give you a ride.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Consider it one Enhanced doing a favor for another. We’re a small community.”

Peter smiled again. He liked this guy, even if he was starting to close off a bit. “Alright. If you ever need help… Well… Do you want my number? You can call me if you or the other Defenders need help or something.”

“Alright.” He handed Peter a small cellphone. “You’ll have to input it.”

“You got it, Horns.” Peter ignored the accessibility functions on it. It wasn’t his place to ask.

A small huff. He took the phone and used it to make a phone call.

“You’ll be getting a ride back from my friend Karen.”

“No way!” Peter laughed. “There’s an AI in my suit named Karen!”

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty to talk about, then.” A dry sense of humor and he was off, a brusque “Stay out of trouble” being thrown over his shoulder at Peter, who was to meet Karen at the road.

“You got it, Mister Satan, sir!”

The Devil stopped, choking a second. “What?”

“Well, you’re the ‘Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’, so… Satan.”

“I’m also Catholic." The Devil scowled. "Just… Call me Daredevil. No ‘Mister’ or anything, yeah?”

“Alright, Daredevil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started to include Daredevil in this because I thought it could be good for Peter to have other friends who aren't super high profile Avengers. After all, defending a city is different than defending the world. 
> 
> Sorry if Matt is out of character! I haven't watched Daredevil in forever, and I have to start Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and the Defenders. I'm really behind on all the Marvel TV series... Most of the characterization is going to come from fanworks and what I need for the fic. And Wiki. Lots of time on Wiki. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr:  
> putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com


	44. Distance from Monotony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter feels settled in his routine as exams start to come closer. Rhodey makes Tony break his recent routine.

Peter decided to keep the Daredevil incident quiet. He wasn’t even supposed to _go_ to Hell’s Kitchen – he was lucky Tony hadn’t been keeping a close eye on the tracking data that night.

Still, it was kinda cool when he got a call from Daredevil to help him out with a local problem that the Avengers wouldn’t address. Working with the Defenders was fun. Rejuvenating. He hadn’t even realized it, but at some point Spider-Man had become an obligation that he did out of duty, but when seeing how he measured up to other heroes (like Iron Man or Hawkeye), he had found himself lacking. Working with people who had gotten in the game to protect their city was a nice way to reconnect with his own motives – namely, protecting his loved ones.

It meant finding a way to justify the new number simply saved as D in his phone, but for the most part no one seemed to question the odd call here and there from the Defenders. No one had seemed to catch on that Spider-Man was making more and more appearances with the Defenders, but he assumed that had to do with the fact that they were fairly low-profile in their own right.

He had even gotten invited into the group chat, but that was more of a professional use chat. Jessica sometimes used it to grouse about her work, but other than that it was just a coordination effort shared by the small group.

It was blowing up the night before, but since Peter had a test the next day he needed to study for (which he started to wish he hadn’t mentioned), the Defenders had been adamant they would beat the living daylights out of him for missing out on his education.

So, instead, he had Tyler over – something the two of them hadn’t been able to do as much as AP exam season loomed closer – and he was being quizzed on his notes by his boyfriend.

“So, um…” Tyler squinted at his handwriting. “Normally I’m pretty good at reading your chickenscratch, but I don’t really know what any of this is anyway, so…”

He passed Peter the study sheet. Peter glanced through it. “I’m set in this subject anyway. Any subjects you wanna go over?”

“Nah.” Tyler shrugged. “I’ve got AP World History and AP Lang, but History is easy and Lang is my best subject.”

Peter nodded. “So… what do you want to do in the meantime?”

May and Ben were gone, but Peter didn’t want to be the one to suggest it. He half hoped Tyler wouldn’t.

“Let’s just make out?”

“Absolutely!”

It was nice to know they were still on the same page with that, then.

*

Rhodey was worried. It wasn’t often he worried too much about Tony – if there was one thing he was good at, it was bouncing back from something, even if it was only in a ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ kind of way – but right now he was more worried than he thought he had ever been.

Tony was good at putting on the face of ‘alright’. He’d been doing it the entire time Rhodey had known him, and Rhodey was ashamed to say he had fallen for it more times than he should have for having known Tony for so long. He knew him when his mask still broke if someone raised their voice at him or he thought he was going to get in trouble, so he should have seen through it throughout their friendship. But Tony was, true to form, always good at hiding his pain.

He hadn’t seen it with the palladium poisoning. He had known something was up, but he hadn’t known how bad it was until it was almost too late. He wasn’t making that mistake again, which is why he was dragging the other man out of the Avengers compound and out for food.

“We could have cooked if you had said something, Rhodey.”

“You needed out of there.” Rhodey gestured at Tony’s sandwich. It was a cheap deli in Queens that the kid had mentioned “Now eat.”

Tony shrugged. “I was fine.”

“Yeah.” Rhodey sighed, reaching out and tapping his friend’s arm. “You were fine, but you needed to get out. You and Rogers are avoiding each other – which I fully support, by the way. I think he’s been taking you for granted lately, and it’s been pissing me off – but that means you’re also avoiding the others. You needed to be around people for a bit.”

Tony smirked. “You always did know me just a tad too well.”

“I lived with you for four years. My mother considers you her own child.” Rhodey shook his head. “Of course I know you too well.”

The bell rang and Peter and another boy came running in. Both of them had rumpled clothes, but where Peter’s hair showed clear dishevelment the other boy’s was too short to show much of anything.

“Hey, Mister Delmar!”

“Peter!”

Tony looked up, a wicked gleam in his eye. “If I’m not mistaken, that is a post-make out look. He and Tyler must have had some free time.”

“Tony, we both know that can be a lot of things, not just a 'post-make out look'.”

“The kid is fifteen, let me imagine he’s still got some childhood left in him.”

Rhodey laughed. He waited for the two to order before calling the two of them over. “Next time you come out, make sure you’re actually something close to presentable, kid.”

“Huh?” That’s when Peter looked at his clothes, and then pulled at his phone to check what he looked like. Rhodey caught the edges of a hickey on his neck and fought the urge to laugh as the kid caught sight of it too, blushing. “Oh my god. Tyler!”

“What?” Tyler was smirking, leaning forward, closer to Peter. “I thought it was a good look on you.”

“You could have warned me!”

Tony was laughing at the two of them, and it was like music to Rhodey’s ears. He hadn’t laughed like that – hard and deep, a full-bodied laugh that came from a genuine joy – since the footage had been shown to him. He was right – Tony had needed to get out. He had needed a little bit of distraction to distance him from the undoubtedly constant cycle of thoughts surrounding his parents’ deaths and their murderer.

Happiness was a good look on Tony, and Rhodey was going to make damn sure he saw more of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a shorter chapter today. I wanted to have a break for Tony where he got to enjoy life a bit before things pick up again, because he's had it rough the last couple of chapters. 
> 
> Peter and Tyler didn't go further than making out, don't worry. Rhodey's just making comments because they're teenagers. 
> 
> Find me on tumblr:  
> [putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)


	45. Blending and Blurring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Wanda have a chat while going through records. Rhodey sees Tony with the Parkers. Peter thinks about his place with the Defenders.

Rhodey saw more of the Tony that coped in the next few days. He started building again, focusing on his new and ongoing projects with a fervor that was usually seen after something that derailed Tony. After his parents, after Afghanistan, Obadiah, the Expo.

There had been some of it after a conversation with the kid’s uncle, but Rhodey had never found out what that was about.

The two of them had gone over to the Parker’s for a potluck dinner that they were hosting. It was small – Tony, Rhodey, the family, and Jake Peralta, whom Rhodey had an appreciation for, even if they weren’t the most compatible personalities in the world.

The kid, however, hadn’t come back from patrol, and Tony was starting to get worried. May was too, feeding Tony’s own worry. Ben just shook his head. “He’s been late before. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Tony shook his head. “Alright. He’s half an hour late for _dinner_ , and an hour past when May said he was supposed to be home. I’m calling him.”

Jake wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes. His knee was jiggling in its place.

“Isn’t this kid notoriously reckless and absent-minded? He probably got caught up and just lost track of time.”

May sat down. “Maybe.”

Ben smiled at Rhodey, mouthing ‘Thank you’ while May forced herself to calm down. “But what if he isn’t fine?” She stood back up. Tony rolled his eyes, speaking into the phone at who he assumed was Peter.

“Then you should have been here on time!”

Someone came rolling in the window. “I tried, Tony!” The kid was putting his phone on a bookcase and ripping his mask off. Rhodey made sure to keep track of the phone so if the kid lost his mind looking for it he could point it out to him. And laugh at what, if his experience with Tony was any indication, was sure to be a hilarious face of exasperation.

“Where were you that it took you so long to come back?”

Peter shrugged. “I lost a guy I followed to Hell’s Kitchen a while ago, and I’ve been keeping tabs on some of the stuff going on there to see if I can’t find him again.”

May shook her head. “You need to stop spending so much time with Jake. Working yourself like this over one case isn’t healthy.”

Jake sat up. “Hey! I have one of the best arrest records in the precinct! I can be a good influence!”

“Yes, and you are always covering up how tired and exhausted you are, you haven’t taken a decent vacation since that cruise with Amy that turned out to be a front for your criminal friend that was about to be murdered, and it was you that taught him how to pull an all-nighter without falling asleep during the all-nighter or during the next day.

“Jake, we love you, but you need to look after your health more. Orange soda and cereal we let slide, but your body won’t be able to keep up with that.” May touched Jake’s cheek, looking like the embodiment of parental. Ben was in the corner, smiling. Rhodey could see why Tony liked these people – and moreover, why he liked spending time with them. Tony seemed to fall into place around them, part of the family as naturally as he was at the Rhodes’ home during holidays in college. “Just promise me you’ll eat healthier and try to get more sleep?”

Jake grumbled something that sounded like an agreement before turning towards the hallway. “I’m going to see what’s taking Peter so long.”

*

Steve sighed as he looked at the minimal information he had found on Bucky. He was still going to look – like Stark had said, he wasn’t not _allowed_ to look. He just couldn’t use Stark’s resources. Wanda was helping him, translating some of the information about the Winter Soldier they had found in the SHIELD files he had dumped. Steve had originally ignored it but thinking about Clint’s hidden family made him wonder if some part of Bucky might have established a bolthole somewhere.

“What about this?” Wanda passes him a piece of paper. “It’s unusual.”

It was a listed apartment that went uninhabited for years and then was snapped up for dirt cheap by a Jamie Elizabeth Warren.

Jamie – James. Elizabeth – Bucky’s sister. Warren – Steve’s mother’s maiden name. It’s kind of ingenious, and Steve has to wonder if Bucky hadn’t broken out of the conditioning in the past, only to be shoved back in.

“It’s in Romania.”

“We might be able to get permission to go if we promise we aren’t going for a mission.”

“What if he reacts poorly?”

Wanda leaned back. “I don’t know.”

Steve looks long at her. Something about her has bothered him for a long time. “Why’d you volunteer with HYDRA?”

Her lips press into a line. “Pietro and I…

“I was the one that wanted revenge. First it was against Stark, but as I got older it was against the world. Pietro felt responsible for me, so he went to all the demonstrations to keep me safe. He pretended to be in the cause, to enjoy the protesting and the crowds.

“I… I spent a lot of years blaming Stark for something that wasn’t his fault. Sometimes I still do, but I remind myself what I read when I joined your team. That he didn’t know where a lot of the weapons were going. That the weapons used during the Sokovian conflict in the early 2000s were used by a rebel group that shouldn’t have had any access to them to begin with.

“We were approached by a man who claimed he could make us great. He said that people who wanted to push down Sokovia would have to go through us. We had heard of HYDRA. We knew they were active in the area, but we ignored all the red flags when we talked to him. We met him a couple of times, asked him questions. He said that he would give us the skills to save our country, at first. Later it was the power. After that, it was the powers. We didn’t understand what he meant until it was too late – we assumed from his accent that his understanding of the Sokovian dialect wasn’t very good.

“By the time we realized it was HYDRA we couldn’t leave. So, we stayed their lab rats.”

Steve looked at the paper between them. “Why didn’t you leave?”

“When we got our powers?”

Steve nodded.

Wanda shifted. Her hands started fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. “I don’t know. I…

“I don’t know.”

Steve turned back to the paper she had handed him. “Well, I think you were right about this. I think there’s something there.”

She smiled. “I’ll see if this is something we need approved under the Accords – you look at how much we need to pull together for plane tickets.”

She stood, walking towards the door. She paused a moment before walking back. “Steve… I will never make up for all of the horrible things I did with HYDRA. But I want to be better.

“I think part of that means telling Mister Stark about what we’re going to do.”

She nodded at Steve’s silence, looking a bit uncomfortable about what she had said, but still confident in her actions as she turned around again and walked out. Steve knew it was probably for the best, but there was a pit in his stomach. He had wanted to keep this private, keep it in his hands and under his control. When had everyone else become so involved in it?

*

Peter liked the Defenders. A lot. It’s why he started spending half of his week patrolling Queens and half patrolling with Daredevil – who still hadn’t told him his real name, the jerk. All he knew was he was a lawyer.

Sitting in Jessica’s PI office, he laughed as he watched her scream at her computer screen.

“I’m going to murder this jackass! How has he gotten away with half of this?”

“Isn’t that your job, though? They hired you to find evidence because the police weren’t turning anything up and they thought there might be a conflict of interest.”

“Because he’s a dirty cop who covers his tracks and has some friends in high places.” Jessica grumbled on about her current mark while Peter stood, the microwave beeping. He pulled the mug out, slipping a bag of chamomile tea in.

“Here, drink this.”

“Your aunt is rubbing off on you.”

“Hmm… She said Jake was rubbing off on me just the other day. It was probably Daredevil, in all honesty, but she doesn’t know that.”

“Good.” Jessica started chugging the still hot beverage like she didn’t feel it. “I don’t think you should be hanging out with us, but if you’re going to, I don’t want the Avengers getting all up in my shit. I’m happy here, and I don’t want that changing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Peter pulled out his homework. Sometimes, sitting in Jessica’s apartment/office was the best place to get his work done. It was quiet, and her no-nonsense, single-minded focus became a motivator to get his own stuff done faster. It was nice on his days off, especially.

He sighed as the time got closer to leave. He wasn’t going to be late again. Not after he had seen the worry on May and Tony’s faces when he got back. Not after that vaguely haunted look in Jake’s eyes when he had come back late.

He could keep this from them if it meant not stressing them out. If it meant having his own escape from the people in his life that worried over him constantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll come back in tomorrow to put the links in. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying it! 
> 
> A note about Wanda's characterization - we don't get much on Wanda after AoU, so I figured I would flesh her out a bit here. Especially since in this she's decidedly focused on working as an Avenger, I wanted her to have a motivation. She realized she was wrong with time, kind of thing, and wants to make up for it, much like Natasha's own motivation of 'wiping out the red in her ledger'. The key difference is Wanda doesn't think she can make up for it, she just wants to be better. 
> 
> See you tomorrow!


	46. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has to face the facts - he can't do everything. Matt begins to adjust to having a kid around, and Wanda hears back from the UN

Steve was glad to see Tony again at the weekly team dinner – he had skipped out the last two weeks – but it was clear there was still some resentment. Clint pulled him off to the side.

“Look, Cap. I don’t think he’s got anything against your friend anymore, other than a world of hurt.” He gave Steve a look. “Don’t screw this up by reading too deep into things.”

“He resents someone.”

“Yeah. You.” Clint shrugged. “I barely know what’s going on with you two, and only because the kid has no filter when he’s tired and about to pass out. I probably take advantage of that fact way too much, honestly, but it’s kinda hilarious.

“Off topic. From what I do know, though, you kept something huge from him. If we’re a team, we need to share this shit with each other. This isn’t like me keeping my family a secret – that was a safety and security risk, and it wasn’t relevant to anyone else except Natasha. This is bigger than that, and it directly concerned someone you work with. If we’re gonna get past this without it spiraling out of control because Stark’s too proud to admit he’s hurting and you’re too stubborn to see where you fucked up, then you’re going to have to apologize. In private.”

Steve nodded. He hadn’t thought he was doing anything too terrible, but if this many people were concerned with his actions, he might have to rethink that assessment. Clint nodded at him.

“Good. I’ll see you in training tomorrow. I heard the kid’s swinging by.”

Clint chuckled at his own joke, prompting Steve to roll his eyes as he moved to help set the table for the dinner. Maybe things could blow over. Maybe he should take his teammates’ advice.

*

Peter laughed, ecstatic that his friends were getting along with Tyler. The two of them had talked about it – neither of them had met friends. Families? Yes. May and Ben liked Tyler almost as much as Tyler’s moms liked Peter. Friends? There was something about that, that early in their relationship seemed to be too close.

And now, by chance, he was meeting Ned and MJ.

“How did you find him?” MJ looked at Peter, raising an eyebrow.

“Work.”

“I like him.” She glanced at Tyler, who was talking to Ned, completely engaged in a discussion about theories from a show they both liked. “He’s good for you.”

Peter smiled. “Yeah.”

“Hey, bring him by that school thing you and Ned were talking about. Show him off a bit.”

“The end-of-the-year science fair thing?” Peter shrugged. “I mean, I’m not even sure I’m gonna enter this year.”

“Why not?”

Peter deflated a bit. “There’s a lot going on right now. I don’t really know if I have time for the science fair.”

MJ’s head tilted. “Well, you would know better than I would. It’s a shame, though – you made something great freshman and sophomore years.”

Peter tilted his head back. “Ugh. I wish I could do it, but I don’t have time!”

Tyler and MJ both spoke at the same time.

“You could partner with someone for this year’s competition. Teams’ challenge could be fun.” MJ, practical as always.

“God, that view of your neck is amazing.” Tyler, as helpful as he often was, was currently distracted.

“Seriously, Tyler?” Peter put a hand on the back of Tyler’s chair. “That’s what you’re getting on about?”

Ned made a face. “Yeah. I don’t need to know the weird shit you guys like.”

“Hey!”

Tyler didn’t laugh, to his credit. The topic had come up once in a while, but they had agreed not to go too much beyond making out because it made Peter uncomfortable. Instead, Tyler put a hand on Peter’s shoulder and let Peter lean into it.

Peter appreciated it. He didn’t mind when Tyler hit on him, or made jokes about his body, or pointed out things he found attractive about Peter, but he didn’t like the idea of actually having _sex_. Feeling the light touch, though, and paying attention to what MJ had said, let him ignore the discomfort for just long enough to respond to MJ.

“Who would I team up with anyway?” Peter gestured to Ned. “He’s already on the single-person contest roster.”

“Mmm…” MJ thought about it a minute. “Yeah, I didn’t think that far ahead. Still, it’s a shame you aren’t competing this year.”

Peter shrugged. “What’s one year? Next year, things should be easier to fit in.”

“Next year we’re applying for colleges, Peter. We’re going to be going insane trying to keep up with everything. If there was a year to skip the science fair, it would be next year.”

“Well, I’ve got a steady job, a hella good internship. If I miss one of the science fairs, I’ve still got a lot going for me on a college application.”

Ned perked up. “Yeah, and your job is technically also public service! Even if you’re an admin assistant, or whatever you’re called, it’s still in the public domain. That’s gotta count for something!”

Tyler nodded. “And Captain Holt’s got a great reputation.”

Peter smiled a bit. “Yeah. That’s all gonna help me on college apps.”

MJ gave him a measured look. “I’m not just talking about college applications, Peter. You’re… You’ve been more withdrawn. I heard from Ned you were thinking about quitting Decathlon next year.”

Peter shrugged. “I mean, it’ll depend on the time commitment in senior year, but I don’t know that you really want me on the officer board anyway. Notorious flake, remember?”

MJ’s face went blank. Peter had to wonder if he overstepped some unspoken line she had drawn. “Well, think about it. Don’t cut everything you enjoy out because of a job or an internship.”

But it went further than a job and an internship, and suddenly Peter was very glad Tyler and Ned were right there with him. MJ left, barely glancing back at the table.

*

Matt didn’t like that there was a kid, a literal _child_ working with the Defenders. He wasn’t going to stop Spider-Man, but he wasn’t one to encourage him.

Still, his bright optimism was nice on patrols. And it helped having someone that shared his conviction when it came to not killing anyone.

“What do you think about that cop Jess is tracking?”

Matt turned to Peter, considering the question. “I think there’s a lot of corruption in New York. I think, once you get high enough, it’s unavoidable.”

“I think we could change that. We demand transparency, we call our public servants to the cause.”

“Money talks, especially in a city as big and financially oriented as New York.”

Peter went quiet, considering it. “I guess. But Mister Stark always tries his best to use his money for good causes! And he isn’t corrupt!”

Matt smiled. That optimism was contagious. “Maybe not, but he’s an exception, not the rule.”

“True…”

While the two of them continued on their patrol, mostly silent, Matt looked in the direction of Peter’s heartbeat. “Sometimes you can make the best of a bad situation.”

“Hm?”

“Learning to work within the corruption to change it from within – that’s another way to accomplish what you were talking about.”

The flutter in Peter’s heartbeat at having his idea acknowledged and built on was worth it. “Thanks Mister Daredevil, sir!”

“It’s Matt.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

*

Wanda looked at the email from their UN handler again.

_Dear Miss Maximoff,_

_While we think it may be premature to attempt contact with one James Buchanan Barnes at this time, should you pursue this you will need to notify local authorities given his status as an international fugitive. Should you be successful in contacting Barnes, it would be appreciated if you could bring him with you to the UN headquarters in Vienna._

_Should this take place, we can discuss further getting psychiatric and medical assistance for Sergeant Barnes squared away._

_Thank you for your understanding,_

_Werner Klein_

So they would have to take him in. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but Werner had been nothing but helpful since the Accords had been signed. He was assigned to her and Clint, who had considered the man friendly enough, if a bit too good at masking what he was thinking. Then again, with someone like Clint, who was supposed to be a master spy and assassin, that was probably a good idea.

And he had promised bringing Barnes in would mean they could get him help. She didn’t know too much about international law, but if she was given a pass for things she did consciously and even slightly willingly at the time, then surely they could deliberate and consider this case?

She glanced through it again, taking down the address and downloading the attachment. It was a form detailing a request to inform local authorities, just as Werner had suggested she do, and then another form that was stating their purpose for traveling.

It was tedious and annoying, sure, but she could understand why they were doing it. With her abilities and Steve’s reputation, it was smart to have everything taken care of to the n-th degree, if only for the peace of mind of the people in that country. There had never been peace of mind in Sokovia, but she wouldn’t be one to deny it to others. Printing off the forms, she went to find Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very little of Tony in this one - sorry! But as for Matt giving his name to Peter, I figured Matt is pretty fair. Peter's proven he's trustworthy and _trusting_ which means something to Matt, especially given he and Jessica didn't always have the best reputations. (I just started Jessica Jones - I love it so far). Again, I haven't watched Daredevil in _ages_ , but I remember Matt being very fair and open-minded, and also him getting torn apart by news agencies and the like. 
> 
> As for Peter and Tyler? I pretty much headcanon Peter as kinda ace in this, so he and Tyler make out and stuff, but he doesn't want to go any further. And Tyler totally respects that. IDK if it's just because he's fifteen in this or because it just feels right for this story, but that's how that's going down. I just haven't tagged it because I hadn't really made it official until this chapter. 
> 
> I hope the dirty cop thing isn't overused in this story. I felt like if I had it be something a little less personal than Jake's brush with Hawkins, it could be an interesting character point for Peter - he's dealing with the fact that it's a lot more common than he would like, but he also doesn't have to worry about jeopardizing Jake's case for exoneration if he goes after this one. 
> 
> Also, I figured it was important to address that, realistically, Peter would not have time for everything he wants to do, given how much he's already trying to manage, hence the reference to the science fair with MJ in this chapter. 
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)


	47. Slowly but Surely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Wanda have a chat, Jessica hints at a possible lead, and Steve has a long way to go before he sees his friend again. All of this going on, and the only thing on Jake's mind is that he doesn't want his little brother to grow up.

Tony sighed. “Well, if you’ve got the funds for it, then you’re more than welcome to do it.” He shrugged. “Honestly, Steve, I don’t even know why you’re talking to me about it, Wands.”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Because you have a right to know.”

Tony looked up from his tablet. He didn’t meet her eyes, instead staring at a spot on the wall. “He’s not coming here, is he?” He shook his head, finally looking at her. It took all her self-restraint not to peek into his mind, see what she could do to help him. “I told Steve he couldn’t come here. Not yet, at least.”

“Werner asked we take him to Vienna.”

Tony nodded. “I’m assuming Steve’s not happy with that.”

Wanda shrugged, moving closer and keeping her hands in view so Tony didn’t have to worry about her using her powers. She hadn’t looked again, but she could imagine they would be a major concern after what she had made him see. “He’s trying to talk to his agent, see about getting extended leave to Vienna. They’re concerned, though.”

She leaned against the table, hands held together and in plain view.

Tony glanced down at them every so often. “Well, I can’t blame them. He’s not exactly known for subtlety or self-control, despite what his war-time reputation might have been.”

“What is that joke Peter always tells?” Wanda looked up. “It’s like… Oh! Bucky was ninety percent of his impulse control!”

“Oh, god, not you too!”

“I’ve been going to high school – I hear this stuff all day.”

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Wanda shrugged. “Schools in Sokovia weren’t always able to host classes. There were times, especially during the civil war, that we were more often hiding. It wasn’t exactly the best place to try learning new things.”

Tony nodded. “Well, you’re always welcome to the resources here at the compound to help your education. Especially since you’re going to Peter’s nerdy tech school.” He gestured to the lab. “Hell, you could help out with him down here once in a while, if it suits your fancy. Just give me some warning, yeah?”

Wanda nodded. “I appreciate the offer. For now, I think I’ll focus on just the work I’m given, though. I don’t know how Peter manages everything.”

Tony shook his head, chuckling. “The kid has no sense of when to back down or quit, that’s how. It’s probably really unhealthy, but if he’s managing it fine and May and Ben aren’t worried, I don’t want to discourage him.”

Wanda laughed. “I don’t know that discouragement would stop him.”

Tony shook his head again. “You’re probably right about that.”

*

Peter swung down by a woman who was walking alone. The man about ten feet behind her looked like bad news, and he wasn’t going to let something happen if he could avoid it. She had a hoodie on, and was walking quickly, so Peter figured she knew something.

“Hey, I don’t know if you noticed the guy behind you, but I figured I would walk with you, just to make sure you’re safe.”

The woman swung around and glared at him, hissing. “You idiot, Peter, if you don’t get away from me right now you’ll blow everything to hell and back, you little shit! I’m in the middle of a case”

“Jessica?” Insults aside, Jessica was pretty nice. And insults also seemed to be how she showed she cared.

“Get away from me. Right now.”

He swung away at her request. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that Jessica not only could handle herself, but would resent him if he stuck around. She was capable, and she was enhanced. She didn’t appreciate any implication that she wasn’t either of those things, so instead she pushed people away from her unless she really needed them.

Since Luke was in Harlem, Danny was wandering around New York, Matt was off doing whatever human lie detectors did when they weren’t running around Hell’s Kitchen dressed like the Devil, and Jess was working a case.

He really didn’t have much to do but patrol and homework, and today was a quiet one. No one wanted to do anything that would call attention to themselves, so he was left shrugging and swinging back to his home. He had work the next day, and had some projects he was doing sketches of to work on with Tony. He could do those.

The voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like May kept telling him he had homework. What kind of a student would he be, though, if he didn’t push that off at least another hour?

*

Steve was getting antsy. He hadn’t spent much in the new century outside of the necessities, so he had plenty for one of the cheaper plane tickets to Romania, but he still didn’t like how long he had to wait. To get a decent price, he had to get a ticket six weeks out, and it had a three hour layover in London, of all places. His supervisor with the UN still hadn’t given him permission to stay in Vienna, either, meaning he might have to buy a return ticket.

Buying a return ticket without planning a return for Bucky felt wrong. Without SHIELD to pay a salary, and making minimal money with the UN, Steve set out to find a job. Preferably one where being Captain America wouldn’t be the primary reason he was there.

It turned out, a small art supply shop in one of the artsier parts of Manhattan was the perfect fit. The woman running it was fresh out of art school, trying to make a living doing whatever she could. The store was her primary source of income, and the back storage room had small dividers behind which Steve had seen a bed and a microwave. It didn’t seem ideal, but every morning she greeted him with a smile and some pep in her step, ready to put him straight to work stocking higher shelves or lifting heavier merchandise.

While there was a steady customer base, and she had a thriving online version of the store, there were days that were slower, and those brought into torturous relief just how far away the date was he would see his friend again. Sarah, the girl running the store, picked up on it.

“We have some canvas that came in with some manufacturer’s defects. Wanna help me put them to good use?”

Steve looked up at her. “How?”

“We can decorate this place however we want. I’m sure you’ve noticed.” He had. There were paintings and murals all over the place. Sarah’s work was typically either really abstract – a style he wasn’t a fan of, but could still appreciate – or focused on dancers, fighters, and anyone else who she could find that was full of movement. “Let’s use the busted canvas and paint something for the store.”

Steve nodded, walking over to join her. Maybe working on an art project would push some of the nervous energy away.

*

Jake’s eyes flicked to the clock. Again. Peter hadn’t texted him after patrol, and it was almost eleven at night.

_To: Bro_

_ur safe right?_

It was less than a minute before he got a response.

_From: Bro_

_Yea. Came home early and did my homework._

Jake let out a sigh of relief. He had pretended not to notice when Peter started popping up around other heroes from New York, when he started showing up in areas that were decidedly _not_ Queens and Brooklyn. No one else had commented on it, so he assumed they thought Peter was going to be fine. Safe, even.

Tony hadn’t even commented on it. Then again, since Peter had talked to him about the footage – which he had told Jake only the barest details about – he had been a bit preoccupied, leaving Peter mostly to his own devices.

Peter was growing up, and while everyone else was starting to pull back from him and give him space, Jake wasn’t so sure about that. He didn’t want his younger brother growing up and leaving him behind. Maybe that’s why he started digging through his old guitar books, finding something he could start learning with him. It would be like before he had gotten bit and started growing up too fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're hearing from Jake because he hasn't been popping in as much. He'll be a lot more active later, but right now he's kind of fallen to the wayside. And Peter totally thinks of Matt as Daredevil, then a human lie detector, then some random dude who has a job he won't tell Peter about. In that order. 
> 
>  
> 
> [Check me out on tumblr! ](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)  
> 


	48. Rise and Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is new to co-parenting, so maybe it's best May and Ben had him gather information while they came up with the punishment for Peter's latest stunt. 
> 
> Steve is reminded of what life is like outside the Avengers.

Jessica texted him at midnight. His ringer was on low, but it was enough to wake him up. It was just a call to meet her at her apartment, with a brief mention of a lead. Since he couldn’t exactly take the suit without alerting Tony that he was going into Hell’s Kitchen at – oh, god was it really 2 A.M.? – he opted to grab his bookbag after changing, checking for his metro card, and catch the purple line all the way down to the other end of Manhattan.

By the time he was at her apartment, it had been almost an hour and he was feeling the final edges of sleep falling off of him.

“Why aren’t you in the suit?”  

“It has a tracker, and if footage shows up of me in the old one, I can’t help you at all because May, Ben, and Tony _will_ take the suit from me and keep me from being Spider-Man.”

Jessica groaned, flopping onto her desk chair. “Fine. You’ll run logistics with Matt tonight, then. He should be here in about ten minutes.”

Peter nodded, settling in. He was glad he had thought to grab his bag instead of just his wallet. It looked like it would be a long morning, and he would have to go to school straight from Jessica’s.

*

Tony liked to think he had a pretty good idea when the kid was hiding something. The past few weeks, he had been keeping an eye on him, noticing the darker circles, the heavier looks. When he had started getting concerned at what it was the kid wasn’t saying, he had glanced through the tracking data, noticing more time logged in Hell’s Kitchen, and the footage showed a few of the Defenders.

He had told May and Ben, naturally, but he thought it was good for the kid to branch out a bit. Befriending people on the ground also meant Peter was more inclined to stay on the ground, meaning Tony didn’t have to worry about him getting wrapped up in anything too dangerous.

But this was going a bit far. The kid had left the house, taking his bag with him, and only texting May when he realized she would be up soon. May had then texted him, saying if Peter broke his Spider-Man curfew, Tony would have to coordinate with May and Ben on the punishment. He didn’t want to punish the kid, but he understood the concern – if he got in the habit, his grades would slip, and college was non-negotiable.

So, when he realized there was no way to track the kid, since his suit was at home, he went to one of the locations listed as a frequent stop by his AI.

“Thank you, Karen.”

“Not a problem, Mister Stark.”

“Come on, now,” Tony smiled. “It took me ages to get the kid to stop saying ‘Mister Stark, and now you do it, too? I made you.”

There wasn’t much of a response to that, and Tony had to double check that he hadn’t programmed passive-aggressive sass into this AI. He didn’t think he would have – not when it was for his kid – but he might have done it without realizing.

And nope. No sass programmed in. That was all learned from Peter Parker himself. Nice to know he was still talking to the AI and treating her like a person, though. He had seen people start treating FRIDAY like Google – asking her questions but never engaging with her. Sometimes, Tony wondered if that’s why she was taking longer to start developing some of the functions JARVIS had learned that Tony had taken for granted. She was being treated as a servant and search engine, so she was developing protocols and responses for that instead of for human engagement. Slowly, but surely, though, she was getting there.

It could also be his own paranoia manifest in the code. After Ultron, he had to be careful making another AI. There was a lot of fear on the team, and he could respect that. They didn’t know AI like Tony knew AI. He had made them time and again, and only one had gone rogue. And even if the petulant, vicious voice of his father whispered at him _“So far”_ , that was still a damn good track record, given he was the only one so far to make ones advanced like JARVIS had been, like FRIDAY had the potential to be (if people would stop treating her like a service instead of a personality), and like Karen was becoming.

He started looking through Karen’s logs. The kid really did log a lot of conversation time with her.

“FRIDAY, does Peter talk to you when he’s here?”

FRIDAY hummed a bit. “Mister Parker is a very engaging conversation partner when he isn’t immersed in his work, Boss.”

“That’s…” Tony smiled. “I’m glad.”

“As am I.” There was a pause. “Mister Parker is safe, yes?”

“I think so. Prep a suit for me, just in case. I have a private investigator to visit.”

*

Peter was supposed to work with Tony in the lab that night – May and Ben had even told him to go despite sneaking out, saying they would handle it when he got home – but he ended up being pushed into a bedroom and told to get some rest.

He was thankful, though. It meant he could take a few minutes and actually close his eyes. Getting up at two in the morning for Defenders/Spider-Man work not only threw off his entire body, it meant he was worn out by two in the afternoon and about ready to collapse when Happy dropped him in the room. A few hours later and he was waking up, stiff from having just collapsed, his bookbag still on, and slept. Tony was sitting nearby, reading on his tablet.

“Care to explain the little jaunt through Manhattan this morning?”

“Helping someone out.” Peter was fighting the urge to fall back asleep.

“Jessica Jones.” Tony shrugged. “Not the best person to hang around, from what I’ve heard, but she can’t be much worse than me.”

“Well, she doesn’t snark at me. Just swears a lot.” Peter pushed the bookbag off his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure she’s forgotten my name at this point, she calls me ‘little shit’ so much.”

“That’s… nice, I guess?” Tony shook his head. “You can say something to her if it bugs you, you know. She should respect your boundaries.”

Peter laughed. “She calls everything a shit, so it just means I’m part of the gang at this point.

“It’s nice. I feel like I really belong with them, not like I’m a younger tag-along.”

Peter was drifting back asleep when he said it, so Tony was sure the feeling had been around a while and it just took the veneer of exhaustion and sleep to loosen his tongue. It kind of hurt that Peter thought that way, but he understood it. They hadn’t taken Peter out on major missions, just helped him with patrol and had him over for group bonding. It would make sense he would fall into place with another group.

And it meant he was local to New York City, something that pleased Tony to no end. It meant the kid wouldn’t be running off across borders, state or otherwise, and getting himself in danger in places Tony couldn’t help him. That was a major piece of why Tony had been able to relax a bit lately.

Ruffling Peter’s hair on his way out, he glanced behind him. The kid was out, and looked so much younger. He looked like some of the photos May and Ben had shown him, ones he had scanned and placed next to ones Harley’s mom sent as part of the “Family Fridge Protocol” that had been around since JARVIS.

*

Sarah had hung up the canvas they had worked on almost as soon as it dried, putting a small sticker next to it.

“I didn’t know you sold pieces here.”

She nodded. “Just about every piece in here is on sale. That one,” one of her cat in the sun, “is about 30, the one down by the door is about 20. The one we did could probably get about 40, given canvas size and paint costs, but I’ll haggle if I have to.

“Gotta find something to keep this place going, even when the sales are down!”

Steve nodded. “You do a good job of it.”

Sarah smiled. “Thanks.” She pulled some merchandise out of the back, moving to put it on shelves. “I’ve got some practice.”

The art supply store was quiet that afternoon, but it was pleasant. Sarah talked about her art, her girlfriend, and her cat, which lived in the store with her and was very friendly. Steve would know, considering it liked to lay on him if he sat down for more than five seconds because of how warm he usually was.

He had forgotten what it felt like for things to be slow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! We'll start pulling some of the juicier plot stuff out soon! 
> 
> As always, feel free to like, comment, etc!
> 
>  
> 
> [Find me on tumblr!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)  
> 


	49. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's tolerance for bullshit is lowered by the early mornings. Steve is that much closer to having his best friend back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - this is going to start referencing/implying past non-con elements. If you're familiar with Skip Wescott, that's indirectly and non-explicitly referenced in this chapter, and will be connected to some events coming later. Nothing will be in fic, but there will be references to it. I'm going to edit the tags in a minute to warn incoming readers, but given my own discomfort the most you'll see is referenced or implied non-con having happened in the past of certain characters.

Six weeks sped by once he started embracing his job and the steady pace it gave life, and he was on his flight to Romania. He had to fight the urge to fidget in his seat – being recognizable was bad enough, and the graffiti he had seen in Sokovia was still stuck in his mind. Some of these people likely didn’t have a very high opinion of him, even if they weren’t part of the small group that was making their displeasure at sharing a plane with him known via obvious glances and glares.

“You did file your paperwork, correct?” Wanda whispered to him, settling in with her book.

“Yeah, of course. I want every opportunity for this to work out.”

“Good. I don’t want to be arrested in Romania for your mistake.”

Steve wanted to feel offended at that, but he could understand where she was coming from. He was a wildly public figure, with international recognition and nowhere near the PR team Tony had available to him. If Tony made a mistake, he threw money at it and let his PR team handle the rest. It must be nice, but Steve didn’t let himself dwell on it. Tony had grown up seeing that as an example – for all of Howard’s good qualities, that had been how he had handled faux pas’ with his tech or with how it was used by the military.

It was puzzling to Steve that Tony would be so averse to his father. He either didn’t say clammed up and stopped talking when the man came up, or (if he was drunk, or was already in a foul mood) he spoke so ill of him, Steve’s ma would have washed his mouth out with soap, grown man or not. Everything Steve remembered of Howard, though, had been of a good, slightly goofy man that only had the best of intentions when he did something. He was a lot like Tony that way, though Steve was sure Tony would resent the comparison.

Wanda was immersed in her book for half the flight, sleeping for the other half. Once they were in London, the two stopped at an airport restaurant, opting to eat something more substantial than what they would get on the plane. Steve felt himself getting more and more anxious as time went on, though, and soon he was fidgeting in his seat. Wanda gave him a look, likely about to chastise him for attracting too much attention (she had been spending a lot of time with Natasha lately, and it showed) when their boarding was announced.

“Thank god.” He rocketed up to his feet, ready to steamroll someone. He wanted to be in Romania yesterday, and here he was about to finally get on the plane.

He only hoped seeing Bucky went over better now than it had on the helicarrier, when the man had dragged him out of the Potomac and booked it out of the area.

*

Peter had another early morning wake-up, but this time he just kept texting her, hoping to get out of the commute. It ultimately worked, though Jessica was a bit more brusque than normal in texts. The medium, conducive to concise messages, was nearly perfect for her.

It didn’t stop him from being dead on his feet through school, and then again at work. By the time he got home, he had a hard look from May to look forward to and a ‘discussion’ after dinner with Ben.

“Peter, your sleep is just as important as your education.”

“I know, I know. I just…” He didn’t want to talk about the Defenders. May and Ben had been hesitant about Tony, and he had been getting good PR for years at this point. “I keep waking up, is all. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Is it the nightmares again?”

Peter shrugged. “I dunno. I wake up, and then I’m laying there awhile, and then I fall back asleep.”

Ben nodded. “If it’s nightmares, we can talk to Tony about having you see a specialist. He really wants you to get this stuff taken care of before it becomes a problem, kiddo.”

His gut squirmed at the idea of the lie, but he wasn’t about to give this up. He had more solid direction when it came to being a hero. Yeah, he still helped out with muggings and assaults and stolen bicycles, but he also got to make a more solid difference.

Jessica had dug up a connection between their corrupt cop and some major organizations she knew used Enhanced individuals for their crimes. It meant the possibility of a bigger fight, which was enticing, but also of helping other Enhanced people. Maybe they could get them to switch sides, maybe they could find them help. It all depended on them being able to tackle the network on their own, though, because if local authorities caught them it would be reported to the local Accords Board, and they would just be locked up, their abilities logged and possibly tested. From what Luke had said, there was a strong possibility, in that situation, for many of them to become worse than petty criminals.

“It’s not a problem, Ben. Promise.”

“You’ll tell us if it becomes one?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

*

The next day at school wasn’t much better, but not because of a lack of sleep. No, instead Flash had decided to harass him for the entirety of the day. Flicking him, spitballs, shoving him when no one was looking – the entire nine.

“I hear you spend a lot of time around town, Petey-Pie.” He sneered, his teeth glinting in the light.

_‘Probably too much whitener, based on the stench.’_

“I wonder what you’re doing in all those parts.”

“I have no clue what you’re insinuating.” He did, but he wasn’t giving him the satisfaction.

“Oh, I’m sure you do. You’re supposed to be smart, aren’t you, Einstein?”

Peter didn’t like that it dredged up memories, even after all these years. He didn't like that instead of brushing it off, he found his elbow digging itself into Flash’s side, probably with more force than necessary.

“If you know what’s good for you,” Peter took a sick pleasure in the look on Flash’s face. He felt guilty for it, too, but he hadn’t told anyone about that, not Jake, not May, not Ben. No one. He had _buried_ it. And here Flash was, bringing everything back. “You will _never_ call me ‘Einstein’ again.”

Flash nodded. It was clear that, while Peter normally just took the abuse he doled out, he had crossed a line. Good.  Maybe Peter wouldn’t have to deal with his _shit_ anymore.

And maybe Jessica was rubbing off on him more than he originally thought. A few weeks ago, he knew he would have reacted differently. Violence shouldn't be the answer - May and Ben had drilled that into him - but maybe for this, it was okay, if it meant Flash wouldn't come close to it again. 

*

Steve walked up the stairwell to the address they had tracked Bucky to. He was excited, and he was alone. He had barely managed to talk Wanda out of going to the apartment with him, even though she was technically supposed to accompany him due to a witness clause in the documents they had filled out.

It was a technicality, though, a formality, even. He could get away with bending the rules a little. Spirit of the law, and all.

He knocked on the door, slightly shocked to hear the locks coming undone. Then a little concerned at the number of locks. Then, over all of that, he felt something in him settle.

Bucky’s face was guarded, he wasn’t letting anything slip, but Steve knew there was something going on underneath that mask, inside that head of his.

“Buck.”

“You stupid, dumbass punk.” There was the hint of a smile. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” Steve shrugged. “Want to talk?”

Bucky looked out the door, eyes back to hard and unreadable. The paranoia must never leave, and Steve felt a sadness in him at that. “Come in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I just moved into the dorm today, but I hope to maintain my update schedule as best I can! 
> 
> [ Find me on tumblr!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)   
> 


	50. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter doesn't like to take his problems to people. And this problem? He doesn't think anyone else will get it. But Jessica does, and that's half of what makes her such a valuable friend.

After the first night when _he_ showed up in Peter’s nightmares again, he found an excuse to stay out late and then crash at Jessica’s.

May and Ben had been irate. What made them even angrier, was that not only hadn’t he called or texted, but he had turned his phone off, and taken the suit off while he was in the middle of Manhattan, meaning no one knew where he was all night.

“We trusted you, Peter. And after that fiasco from before, we thought you trusted _us_. At the very least, if something’s wrong, talk to someone!”

“No!” Peter stood up. “This isn’t even related to Spider-Man, or school, or _anything else_.” Except it was. It was related to everything else. “Just… I crashed at a friend’s because I was low on fluid and I was all the way in Manhattan, alright? It was easier walking there than it was trying to get home so late.”

“Peter, you need to tell us these things, and you need to tell us who you’re staying with.” May put a hand on his knee, and he felt bad about how fast he pulled away from the touch.

They caught it, but it was Ben that got a look in his eyes, like he had some idea what might have happened. “Is Tyler… pressuring you?”

“What? No!” Peter sat up, leaning forward. “He would never!”

“Okay, okay.” Ben lifted a hand, careful not to get too close that Peter might react, but to still signal that he had heard him. “What’s wrong?”

“Just… I’m fine, okay. I told you. It was easier than trying to get home so late.”

Ben didn’t believe him, but he gave Peter a little more room to breathe on the subject. “You don’t have to give us a name, or even an address. But the next time you decide you’re staying in Manhattan, you’re talking to us, alright? You’re texting me, or you’re calling May. We didn’t call Tony this time, but the next time it happens, we will.”

Peter felt himself relax. “Alright. Yeah. I can work with that.”

May glanced at Ben. It had always been a bit eerie how they could communicate between the two of them so easily. “And, Peter? If you need to talk to someone, even if it’s a professional, you can. They don’t even have to tell us what’s wrong, just how best to help you.

“We want you to be happy, but we can’t help you if you don’t give us something to work with.”

“I’ll think about it, okay?”

He wasn’t going to think about it, but it placated May enough he could escape to his room.

*

Steve had a few days in Bucharest that he got to spend with Bucky, but it ended all too soon. He had only three days left – enough time to get him to Vienna and get to the airport there with enough time to spare for something going wrong.

“You gotta go back to the states, don’t you?”

Steve nodded, glancing at the printed out boarding pass. He still hadn’t found a way to bring it up, but he was going to have to. “The UN has someone they think might be able to help you. With the HYDRA stuff, I mean.”

Bucky looked at him, his face as blank and unreadable as ever. “I think I’d like that. If you trust them, I think I can too. After a while.”

“They want us to take you to Vienna.”

“I went to Austria in the 70s. It’s real pretty this time of year.”

“You’re remembering more.”

Bucky nodded. It wasn’t a question, but Steve appreciated the response. “I gotta ask you not to call me ‘Bucky’, though. At least until I get this stuff sorted.”

Steve nodded, but he felt his chest constrict a bit. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want you coming into this with an expectation that I’ll be the same. I did a lot of horrible stuff, and there was a lot of horrible stuff done to me. The more I remember that, the more I have to work through.

“Just… give it some time. Maybe one day it’ll be easier to hear. But right now, it’s pretty damn hard to hear, Stevie.”

Steve nodded again, this time more assured. He would do what he could to help. It was the least he could do for his oldest friend.

*

Jessica saw through him. The second night he was there, after he woke up jettisoning himself from her couch and landing on the floor in his rush to get _out of the thing holding him and oh, god, he was screwed_ , she pulled him to her desk, threw him in her chair, and grabbed him a glass of water.

“You’ve been shouting in your sleep for thirty minutes. You’re lucky you’re not at home.” She checked him quickly to make sure he didn’t hit his head when he had fallen. “You can hide it all you want, but shouting like that would have told your aunt and uncle everything they needed to know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This Skip guy?” She scowled. “He can fucking rot, for all I care. He should never have put his hands on you, and if he ever meets me, it’ll be the ends of my fists.

“I don’t like people that think they can do that. It’s never okay.” She glared at the window. “It never will be. And the fact that it happened to you sucks.

“But you’re going to have to find a way to deal with it. And I’m not letting you deal with it the same way I did.”

Peter didn’t respond. He didn’t want to. But Jessica kept looking at him. He kept thinking about it, about what she had said and what she had talked about. He knew it wasn’t okay that Skip had done those things, that he had put his hands on him like that. That he had hurt him. But wasn’t it just as much on him for not telling anybody before? Or after?

“What’s on your mind kid? The gear-crunching is pissing me off it’s so damn loud.”

Peter scowled at her. He fought the urge to start speaking before he was ready. If there was anything he had _really_ learned from Jessica, it was to commit to what he was going to say before he said it. “How did you deal with it?”

“Drinking. Sex. And later, I killed him.”

Peter couldn’t help the slight flinch.

“Yeah. I’m not letting you go down that road. You’re too nice.”

She never called him pure, or sweet, or innocent. Neither did Matt, Luke, or Danny, for that matter. They knew that he saw his fair share of dark and gruesome hero-ing it up in the city. Instead, they called him nice, kind, generous, and it felt kind of nice having his attributes emphasized rather than his youth. He had lost a lot of that already.

“So how should I deal with it?”

“I tried therapy for a while.” She still wasn’t looking at him, but that was their norm. He wasn’t looking at her either. “But it didn’t stick. I’d still say you should look into it, though. Ask ‘em not to tell your aunt and uncle.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not ready to talk about it.”

“You’re talking about it with me.”

“That’s different.” For the first time since the conversation got heavy, they met eyes. “You understand.”

Jessica softened the slightest bit. It had taken some time to learn how to see through her harder exterior, but once he had it was worth it. “Yeah, kid. I do. And you can talk to me about it if you want.

“I just can’t guarantee I won’t hunt that son of a bitch down and kill him myself.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the headlines, then.” Peter smirked as Jessica cracked a small smile.

“Alright, smartass. Get to back to sleep.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Peter laughed at her, moving back towards the couch. “And Jessica?

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Jessica is his point of contact, his way to start reconciling what happened to him, if only because she gets it. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear from you guys! Check me out on [tumblr!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)


	51. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve leaves Bucky to his recovery in Vienna. 
> 
> Jessica starts looking into the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got today's chapter done super early, so you guys get it posted before I have to go back into training! This also means I can get more work done on the next WIP tonight, so there's more when I start posting it after this fic wraps up.

Bucky settled into Vienna nicely. Steve’s UN supervisor even gave him an extension of his visa by two weeks when he saw that Bucky was brought, in one piece, to the UN. It meant getting to help Bucky find the places he needed to be, even if it wasn’t strictly necessary.

At one point, it made him think about Peter going to college soon. He wasn’t related to the kid, he likely wouldn’t be involved, but he imagined this urge to fret and obsess and be as helpful as possible was something like what Tony and May would be feeling when it was time to leave Peter behind in his dorm with someone they didn’t know. If he had to guess, Tony would have vetted the person thoroughly before allowing the school to room Peter with them, but he could never be too sure.

It was going to be interesting to watch, but it was still a little over a year off. Right now, he had a friend giving him a look.

“I’m not some helpless puppy, Steve. I can handle myself.”

“I know that, James, I swear. I’m just…” Steve shrugged. “Sentimental?”

“You’re acting like an old man.” Bucky smirked at him. “I get it. I probably would do the same.”

Some of Bucky was still in there, but the longer Steve was talking to him as James, the more he saw of the years they spent apart.

The constant awareness of his surroundings. The way he palmed a knife when someone looked too much like one of his handlers. The way he had done a full-body scan of sorts on the man brought in to help him through the psychological damage, likely concluding he had no weapons, but remaining ever vigilant anyways.

That was what settled Steve. He wasn’t qualified to handle this, as much as he may have wanted to. Bucky needed someone like the doctor he was seeing. He needed the kind of social-style solitude he would get being in Vienna – plenty of people to talk to and chat with, but still living in a UN provided apartment alone, where he could trick it out with whatever traps and things he wanted to feel protected. He had even been given pre-emptive permission from the landlord, provided he give a written list of what they were, and how to disable them if he ever needed to send a maintenance worker up.

He sighed. He had done what he could, and he would continue to do his best to help, but it was time to leave soon. He had been dreading it, but that was the reality of the situation. He couldn’t be there all the time, and Bucky had asked him not to push for more time – he wanted to sort this out on his own, without the past coming to him every time he looked at Steve.

So, he did what he was supposed to and got on the plane. He flew back to New York and to his job and to the Avengers. He didn’t see it in his luggage until he was unpacking, because it was hidden underneath some of his shirts, but there was a note.

_Thanks, Stevie. I’ll come visit you when I can._

And that made it all worth it.

*

May was concerned. She had come home from her shift, dead on her feet. She knew Ben had come back the same, staying up a few hours for Peter, collapsing on their bed as soon as Peter had gone to bed himself.

But now she was wondering if they needed to be staying up a little bit later. Peter was whimpering in his sleep, something that had become depressingly common in their home, but he was muttering about… someone he hadn’t even seen in years? May pushed his door open, but the slight creak of it stirred him a bit, and she didn’t get the chance to learn more. He sat ramrod straight, fear still in his eyes as he glanced at May.

“Oh, hey!” He stood up, grabbing a sweater and throwing it on over his shirt.

It wasn’t even cold – when May and Ben had realized that he didn’t keep body heat so well anymore they had started keeping the thermostat higher to keep him from freezing – but he was hugging it to him like it was the only thing he had to protect him from a horrible winter.

“You alright?” May came into his room, fighting the urge to reach a hand out and hold him close. She hadn’t forgotten his reaction before. “You weren’t sleeping well.”

“I’m fine, promise.” Peter shrugged, “Just a weird dream. Promise.”

There was something off about him. He was usually very open with her and Ben, but he was closed off now. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning against the corner of his desk – somewhere, it didn’t escape May, that he would be able to see the whole room with barely a glance.

“Did you get roped into something like the Vulture again?”

Peter shook his head. “Nope. Just normal patrols.”

May nodded, opening her arms for a hug. It hurt a bit, that he tensed before launching himself into her arms. The last time that had happened was…

Was five years ago. She and Ben had thought it was the anniversary of the Expo that had triggered it, but it was also when he started hanging out with that neighbor boy. She could barely remember the name, it had been so long.

She was going to have to talk to Jake. Maybe he knew something about the situation. Maybe she was remembering wrong, in her exhaustion. Opting to sleep on it, she held her baby close and kissed the side of his forehead. “Try to get some more sleep, alright?”

*

Jessica started doing some digging. Starting with the name – Skip – she had dug up records of a Westcott family that had lived in the same building as Peter. The parents had been on the last legs of their marriage when they lived there, and their son had a record for possession, distribution to minors, and petty theft by that time.

Calling up Katherine Marley, who had remarried, revealed the dad to have serious addiction problems. Based on what Katherine had said, it was the result of refusing to get help for his mental health issues. Self-medication led to him watching unsavory things in front of their son at a young age, which was one of the final straws. She had started looking into getting a divorce after that.

“The final straw was when I caught him hitting Skip.” Jessica could hear the dismay from the other side of the phone. “I feel terrible for being so hard on him when he was younger. He kept getting into trouble, and I thought it was my fault for trying to save my marriage, but I didn’t know. I should have been paying closer attention.”

_You weren’t hard enough on your damn kid, lady._

“Ma’am, do you know where Skip is now?”

She hoped he was somewhere close. The satisfaction would be too good if she could go and scare the living daylights out of him.

She wasn’t about to kill the kid without Peter knowing, but threatening him and/or maiming him? She could work with that.

“Um…” There was more than hesitation, there was worry and sadness in that. What happened? “He’s... He came home the other night looking real bad. He said it was just a disagreement with his friend, and he wouldn’t get any help. He died. Last night.”

Jessica asked a few more questions, taking down the information.

_Kings County Morgue; Brooklyn_

_Died one night ago_

_Suspected foul play; came home from working late; Amhurst Family Grocer_

“Alright, ma’am. Thank you for your time.”

“Why did you need all that information?”

Jessica could throw her a bone. She had lost her son, as shitty and terrible as her son was. “I was calling about a suspected murder in that area. I think I may have found what I need. Thank you.”

There was a sob on the line, Katherine started to speak, but Jessica was already hanging up and blocking the number. She was glad she had thought of using a burner for this – she had to get this tip in anonymously, and straight to the only person who she could count on to catch the connection.

Jake Peralta had always struck her as an idiot when their paths had crossed on a case several years prior, but he got the job done and he had enough creativity buried in that thick, Die Hard quoting skull of his to see what others missed. Beyond that, the kid didn’t shut up about him. They were close, meaning digging into Skip Westcott’s life would lead Peralta to the same things Jessica had found.

He was a good cop, and he looked out for Peter. He was someone she could trust to get Peter the help he needed, and that was what she needed. She was more than willing to be his sounding board, but she was barely qualified to take care of herself, and the sooner the kid got professional help, the better it would be for him in the long run.

She’d be damned if he turned out like her. He had too much potential for that.

So she placed a phone call to the Nine-Nine, requesting to speak to Detective Jake Peralta.

She hoped it didn’t blow up in her face.

*

Jake like cases that came from anonymous tips. It was few and far between when they came his way, but he liked them. There was usually an air of intrigue around them, and he enjoyed the added layer of mystery. Sometimes you found out who the anonymous tipper was, sometimes you didn’t. Either way, it felt cool to say you were working on a case from a tip, especially when it turned out to be something.

That being said, once he started digging into Skip Westcott to find out where he had crossed the wrong person, he started to get a bad feeling about the case. His gut twisted as he read through some of the charges against the kid that had been dropped, and some of the times he’d been arrested, but charges weren’t pressed.

_Charges not pressed – witness refused to come forward_

_Charges dropped – Victim refused to come forward_

_Victim statement recanted_

_Witness statement recanted_

_Victim – recanted_

_Victim – refused to come forward_

_Victim – recanted_

This kid had been getting away with some serious stuff, only because he somehow got the victims or a witness to never come forward. Or they recanted.

He had worked a few crimes before, as a beat cop, that were more the purview of sex crimes, and he knew that a lot of times the victims didn’t come forward or they recanted because of shame or fear.

And with children, it was often parents trying to shield either themselves from blame or their child from the shame of what had happened. It was depressing how often it could be the former, though. If Peter had been hurt like that, Jake would burn everything in his path to make sure the person that did it was caught. He wouldn’t rest until he knew Peter knew his abuser was behind bars.

Jake sighed, getting ready to go to the morgue, sticking a post-it note over the ‘past known addresses’ section of the file. It wouldn’t do him good on the case to get worked up right now. He had a murder to solve – he could get someone to partner with him and go through the file later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've been told by two friends that depriving Peter of the most direct form of closure - seeing his abuser behind bars or getting to confront him himself - by having Skip killed off is really mean, but at the same time, I think you guys'll like where I'm taking this. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
>  
> 
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	52. Comfort and Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Rosa have to share some huge news with May and Ben, and neither of them want it to be true. 
> 
> Peter is seeking comfort outside of his family.

The person who ended up partnering with him was Rosa, who had taken the file off his desk while he had been at the morgue. When he came back, she had dropped it in front of him with the noticeable addition of a big, blue circle around one of Steven Westcott’s former addresses.

An apartment three doors down from May and Ben. He would know – when it had opened up five years ago, he had thought about getting it himself, even though it would have meant a hellish commute for work, if not a transfer to a precinct in Queens.

“You don’t think?”

Rosa raised an eyebrow. “May says he’s been acting weird.” She nodded at the file. “She also said she doesn’t think he’s having the usual nightmares. She said he mentioned someone named ‘Skip’.” She pointed at the ‘Known Aliases’ section.

“Aw, hell.”

“That it?” Rosa seemed ready to kill. “You find out that Peter might have been hurt and all you have is ‘aw hell’.”

Jake shook his head. “I want to kill this kid, too. Unfortunately for us, he’s already dead.

“But someone has to tell May and Ben.”

*

Peter started crashing at Jessica’s more and more frequently, ignoring texts from May and Ben asking what was wrong or requests from Jake to stay with him a night.

Flash had to pick the one thing that would dredge up what years of repression had kept buried, didn’t he? Now Peter was spending weeks with his emotional state shot to hell and pretending he was fine.

He couldn’t keep things repressed, though, because Jessica, in her own very brusque way, was getting him to talk through it with her bit by bit. He felt bad – she had gone through worse, hadn’t she? But here she was helping him.

“I can practically hear what you’re thinking there, genius.” Jessica threw a pretzel at him, hitting him in the head. “I help because, unfortunately, I care.”

“You have your own stuff, though.”

“And I’m dealing with it.” There was a hard edge to her voice – she didn’t want him to fight her on this. “I’m helping you, because kids shouldn’t have to deal with this shit. Ever.

“You’re too kind for this world Peter, and I wish it wasn’t because you know how shitty the world can be.”

They settled into silence. That was the best part about being friends with Jessica – she wasn’t too good at the heavy stuff either, so right after they tended to just do their own thing until it blew over.

*

Working with the Defenders more often served a great purpose in Peter’s mind – it got the Daily Bugle off his back. Because he was working with a team, and one that had already saved New York, Jameson seemed to think he was under control, that he wasn’t going to go off and murder someone.

It had a huge downside in that now he had to answer questions about it whenever he was training with Natasha or helping out on an Avengers mission.

“I told you guys, I ran into Daredevil one night and he roped me into helping out.”

Clint smirked. “I dunno. Sounds like you enjoy the Defenders.”

Steve shook his head, smiling at Peter. “I think it’s good you’re finding other friends.”

If anyone thought Tony could be possessive and protective, they hadn’t met Steve. He had barely acknowledged the copious team-ups Peter had done with the Defenders, or the amount of time he had been spending in Hell’s Kitchen and Harlem. He acted like they were school friends – people whose houses he went over to so they could work on a project. It was kind of funny seeing that side of the famous Captain America. Funny and disconcerting.

“Come on, guys. I’ve always been local – it makes sense I team up with the Defenders.”

He didn’t talk about the fact that Jessica knew how to calm him down and pull him out of a panic attack faster than anyone else he knew. He didn’t talk about the fact that Danny had been teaching him ways to control his powers, or ways to control his emotions better with meditation. He didn’t mention how Matt-the-human-lie-detector was bringing him into his work as a defense attorney more often, helping him learn how to use his own enhanced senses to detect when someone was being dishonest with him. How Luke would wrestle and spar him because the two of them could fight all out and know they wouldn’t accidentally kill one another.

Yeah, Tony was important to him, and Clint was practically extended family at this point, just like Natasha. He liked all of the Avengers.

But the Defenders were his peers, not his supervisors or family. They treated him as their equal, and not just some dumb kid that was getting in over his head.

“I’ll come to training more often, if that’ll help.”

The others agreed it would. He didn’t tell them just how hard it would be for him to start balancing more training with everything else.

He started to wonder if cutting out AcaDeca wouldn’t help solve part of the problem.

*

The other great distraction in his life was Tyler, who had started collecting fanart of his boyfriend and keeping it on a wall in his room.

“It’s so cool, man.”

Peter laughed. It was a little hollow, and he knew Tyler could tell, but Tyler had been good about all of this so far.

“You _can_ talk to me, Peter. I promise.”

“I know.” Peter squirmed on the bed, watching Tyler hang up another picture someone had drawn of Spider-Man, this one a bit more comical, with him and that mercenary Deadpool flipping off Captain America and high-fiving. He might not ever actually flip Steve off, but it was funny to see the artist’s rendering of it.

“Then why don’t you?”

Peter looked at his shoes. “This is… Tyler, I trust you with a lot, but this is something that no one else knows about.” A bit of a lie. Jessica knew, and he was pretty sure Matt knew, too. Both of them had figured it out, though. He hadn’t told them. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not with you, not with May. No one.”

Tyler nodded, laying next to Peter on the bed. “Well, either way. I’m always down to listen if you need.”

Peter laid himself down so he was able to cuddle close to Tyler. “I know. And that means so, _so_ much to me.”

There was a beat of silence. Peter leaned in to kiss Tyler’s cheek. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, dork.” Tyler smiled and put an arm around Peter. He was letting it go, and Peter really appreciated that.

Within a half hour, the two of them had fallen asleep, and that’s how Lisa found them. She snapped a picture and sent it to May.

_Thought you might appreciate another one for the album._

There was something about Tyler and Peter… Lisa wouldn’t be surprised if those boys got married one day.

*

Jake had taken the file home with him – it was his night to have Peter over, but Peter was staying in Hell’s Kitchen with a friend. Again. – and stared at it.

He didn’t have any proof. How could he potentially overhaul everything that May and Ben had done by throwing out an accusation that might not even be true? Peter might not have ever been victimized by this kid, he might have just known him as a neighbor.

 _But that’s not a risk you can afford to take right now_.

He looked through the file. Was Peter one of the many, many people that never came forward? That would never come forward unless someone asked him, explicitly, if Skip had hurt him? Peter had always been brave, strong.

He had always wanted people to have a good opinion of him. He walked around like the world would end if he couldn’t get approval from everyone, which is why that Flash kid bugged him so much – he made himself an easy target. And someone that wanted everyone to like them would be the exact kind of person it would be easy to keep quiet about sexual abuse. Convince them everyone would hate them for letting it happen – and god, that phrase grated on him. Peter didn’t _let_ anything happen, he was made to feel powerless – and they would keep quiet.

And Peter had kept quiet for five or more years. Who knew how long it had gone on before Skip had moved away or before Peter stopped spending time with Skip alone?

Part of Jake wished he hadn’t taken this case, but another part told him this was good – if they knew, they could make sure Peter didn’t keep dealing with it alone.

So, Jake finally grabbed his phone, closed the file, and smiled at Amy. “I gotta make a phone call. I’ll be right back.”

“Anderson Cooper’s about to be on!”

“I’ll be a couple of minutes, that’s all. Promise.”

*

He had called Rosa first, and they had gotten May and Ben to agree to meet at a restaurant in Brooklyn, one they didn’t really go to, so May and Ben wouldn’t have somewhere they liked clouded by the knowledge that _that_ is where they found out about Skip Westcott.

Rosa was there first, occupying one half of the booth and with a text from May saying they were running twenty minutes behind.

“What’s our strategy?”

“We just tell them the truth.” Jake sighed. “You have the file?”

Rosa nodded. “I’m surprised she let you out in the middle of 360.”

“I told her it was about Peter.”

Rosa nodded. “Smart. And true.

“I still don’t know how this happened right under our nose and we didn’t see it.”

“We idolized Hawkins, and she was a dirty cop. Don’t know what to tell you, Rosa. Sometimes you don’t catch everything.”

She shook her head. “Who’s telling and who’s calming them down to create a plan of action?”

Jake eyed the doorway. He still had ten minutes. “You tell them – you’re good at ripping off the band-aid. I’ll get them to focus on how we’re going to help Peter.”

Rosa nodded. It was silent for a bit. 

“Why didn’t he tell us?”

Jake didn’t have an answer for her, and he didn't have a chance to think of one, because May and Ben walked in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One, it is a _travesty_ that I haven't introduced you guys to Tyler's other mother, Lisa. Absolutely horrid of me. I apologize. 
> 
> Two, I'm so sorry for this horrendous cliffhanger. Truly, I am. But! Tomorrow's chapter is going to be fairly centered on that conversation. Have fun, friends. 
> 
> [Come say hi!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com) Feel free to message me, too! I love talking to people online!


	53. Lasting Damage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Rosa take the information they've found to May and Ben. 
> 
> There has to be something they can do for their kid, but right now all they can do is hold him close.

May and Ben sat down, confused smiles on their faces. Seeing that – seeing how much they considered meeting Jake and Rosa _safe_ made Jake’s chest ache. They were about to rip that safety out from under them.

“Hey, guys.” Ben looked between them. “What’s the occasion?”

Jake looked at Rosa, who took the cue.

“Did Peter know a Steven Westcott?”

May’s eyebrows drew together and she sat straighter. “Skip? What’s going on with Skip?”

Rosa glanced over at Jake, who nodded. They needed to get the worst of it out in the open. “We’re investigating his murder, and we’ve uncovered some… we’ve found something concerning.

“Steven ‘Skip’ Westcott has multiple sexual abuse and sexual assault allegations against him. Most of them were committed against boys between ten and twelve, and they go back over the last eight years.

“We know he lived a few doors down from you when he was about seventeen, and we wanted to ask you – did you ever leave Peter alone with Westcott?”

May’s eyes widened, and Ben’s face found its way into his hands. Ben dragged his hands down his cheeks a moment later, addressing Jake. “You’re kidding. You have to be kidding. It’s not funny. When was this ever something it was okay to joke about?”

Jake shook his head. “I wish this were a sick joke, but we need to know. Did you ever leave them alone together for any length of time?”

May swallowed, nodding. “He used to babysit Peter. We didn’t know! Peter never said anything seemed strange or wrong – Skip never… Peter never told us…”

Jake nodded. “A lot of victims never come forward about this kind of thing.

“May, you said Peter was having a nightmare about two weeks ago that had you worried. What was he saying?”

Peter, the notorious sleep talker. It was something that Jake had teased him about for years. He had never imagined it would be the key to finding out if he had been abused.

“He…” Her eyes widened, and her voice trembled. “Oh, god. He was telling Skip to get away from him. I didn’t think anything of it – dreams… they aren’t usually very linear or anything. I thought Skip just got roped into a Spider-Man dream…”

Ben shook his head. He was fighting tears. “We didn’t know. We didn’t know he was… that he was…”

Jake shook his head. “These cases are tricky. Sometimes you never can know unless the person says something. What’s important right now is how we’re going to help Peter.”

Ben nodded, rubbing a hand on May’s shoulder. “What do you guys suggest.”

Rosa grabbed a folder, and Jake had a memory of that night back all those years ago, dropping Peter off and giving Ben and May numbers for child trauma specialists.

As Rosa slipped it over to them, she spoke. “You’re going to want to find one of these guys. They all take your insurance, and they specialize in sexual abuse cases. They should be able to help Peter.”

May nodded, taking the folder and skimming the names. “We’ll start making phone calls. What do we say to Peter?”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t know, May. All I know is that if he wants to run when you tell him, don’t let him. Don’t let him be alone – now more than ever he’s going to need to know you’ll still love him. He has probably spent years thinking what happened means no one will want him around them if they find out. He needs to know that he’s wrong, that you’ll be there through everything.”

May choked on a sob. Ben looked like he was going to be sick.

“Did you grab the subway here?”

May nodded.

“Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

He didn’t want them to be alone tonight, either. Wherever Peter was, he hoped the friend he was staying with was keeping him company, wasn’t letting him wallow in his own pain.

“Here’s for my half of the check.”

He and Rosa had barely eaten anything, but she nodded anyway. “I’ll bring it by for you tomorrow for lunch.”

“Thanks, Rosa.”

“Go. They need you.”

*

It was Jake’s idea to get Peter to stay home the next night. There wasn’t a night that May and Ben had off together for a few weeks yet, and they needed to get Peter help, not let him suffer.

“If he runs, though, I won’t be able to hold him back. He’s too strong for me, now.”

Jake nodded. That’s what he was afraid of. “How much will he hate me if I bring Tony into this?”

*

Peter sighed. He knew he had to stay home tonight. He wasn’t even going to patrol – he had spent so much time away that he had to spend time with his aunt and uncle tonight. It wasn’t fair to them. Ben was working, but May would be home, and that would be a start.

He wasn’t expecting to find himself pulled into a hug the second he walked through the door.

“Why didn’t you say something?” May held his head in her hand while another kept itself firmly on his back. “We would have done something.”

Peter was confused for a moment until she spoke again.

“We would have kept him away from you, protected you.”

He pushed her away, feeling the panic rise.

_Start naming streets, or something from memory. Just go through it, sequentially. Focus your energy elsewhere._

So that’s what he did. He started racing through the periodic table, naming the elements and their weights. It was helping, at least a bit.

“Peter, what’s wrong?” May pushed away a bit, forcing that ages old fear – _she knows, she hates me, she blames me_ – back to the surface. He screwed his eyes shut, going through the elements again, trying to force the panic down. He felt her arms around him again. “Oh, Peter.”

A hand started working its way through his hair.

He started weeping as he kept going through the periodic table. When that reached an end, he started working through isotopes, anything.

“Peter, look at me.” It was Tony. _Tony_ knew.

Peter shook his head. He couldn’t see the disappointment. He couldn’t see how much people were going to loathe him for it, going to find him disgusting.

“Peter, please.” Tony put a hand on his shoulder. “We want to help, but we need you to look at us, okay?”

Peter sobbed. “No, no, no. I’m sorry! I should have stopped him or something. I’m so sorry!”

May put her hands on his shoulders again, holding him at arm’s length. “It was never your fault. You were ten.”

“Eleven.”

“Even so. You were a _child_. This was never your fault.”

He finally opened his eyes, only managing to look at May’s chin. He couldn’t look her in the eyes – he had lost that right.

“Peter, look at me.”

“I am.”

“My eyes, Peter. I need you to hear what I’m saying, but I need you to know, even if your heart doesn’t, that it’s true.”

So Peter did. She kissed his forehead.

“It was never your fault. It will never _be_ your fault. Do you understand me? You were hurt by someone you thought you could trust, and that is never, ever okay. This isn’t you messing up and me and Ben grounding you. This is someone taking advantage of the trust you had in them and the power they had over you. We will never, ever, stop loving you, and we will always be there for you.

“It wasn’t your fault, baby.” She pulled him close again. “It was never your fault.”

That’s when Peter finally saw Tony, standing behind May a bit. He could feel the shame well up again, twisting his gut and sending a cold lance through his heart.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Tony shook his head, and May moved so he could talk to him a bit easier, seeming to understand what was happening.

“Kid, what happened to you is unforgivable, but you’re not the one that needs to apologize.

“Unfortunately, the man that did this is already dead, so he never will. I don’t know that he would have anyway. What matters, is we’re getting you help. Ben is going to talk to you in the morning, but the five of us have made a preliminary plan of action. You’re going to start therapy. You don’t have to talk about what happened with him right away, but the therapist we’ve looked at and vetted is a specialist for these kinds of things. She’s going to try and help you through it.”

Peter nodded.

He was exhausted, emotionally and physically from day after day of working himself to the bone, so he didn’t see it, but May could see it embedded deep in Tony’s eyes. As much as he was trying to keep it hidden for Peter’s sake, he was furious. He likely wanted to do exactly what she did and make Skip regret ever touching Peter. They couldn’t do that, though, so Tony had no outlet for that anger.

Peter ate with the two of them in silence, going to sleep soon after.

“Make sure you take care of yourself, Tony.” May put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to need rest, but you also need to let this out somehow. You can’t bottle this up.

“If you ever need to talk, Ben and I are always here.”

“I really appreciate it, May.”

She smiled. “Thank you. For being here tonight, and for helping Peter, and for letting us in. You’re a good man.”

For once, he didn’t respond with an immediate denial. Instead, he gave her a half smile that was still, somehow, the most genuine expression she had seen on him. “Thank you for thinking so. Thank you, and Ben, for letting me into your family and around your kid. I’m not… I’m not a good example. I have a long, public record of mistakes.

“But that kid… he’s _good_. Genuinely good. So thank you.”

May leaned back into the couch. “Sometimes it’s not having the perfect record that counts, it’s how we make up for what we’ve done wrong.

“You’ve done a lot to right your wrongs. Peter grew up seeing you as someone who took responsibility for his actions and didn’t let anyone around him get hurt if he could avoid it.

“As long as you wish to stay, you always have a home and a family with us.”

Tony smiled. “Thank you, May.”

She pat his shoulder. “You’re sleeping here, tonight?”

“Pull-out couch?”

She nodded. “I’m going to check on Peter. You get situated.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for dividing this up, but I didn't want it getting lost in the end of the chapter. It felt more appropriate to break it up into two sections, ending with Peter, May and Tony. 
> 
> We'll get the conversation with Ben soon. Promise. I want to get it out tomorrow, but I can't make promises this time because I'm a Welcome Week Leader at my campus, so I'll do my best to write a huge chunk of it in the morning and then finish it tomorrow night when things wrap up and post. 
> 
> [Come say hi!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)


	54. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year has passed since May and Ben found out about Skip Westcott, and life is settling down as much as it's getting more chaotic.

When Peter started therapy, Jake made sure to find a therapist that would be able to keep the Spider-Man aspects of Peter’s life under wraps. This left few options, but they found overlap in one Camilla Syches, who had the added benefit of making Peter cut back on certain activities and re-evaluate his goals.

It was her idea to have him stick with just the Defenders for a while, having met both teams and feeling that the Defenders would be more suitable to his recovery needs, at least for the next year. That meant no more training with Cap and Natasha, unless they were willing to go to the Nine-Nine and do it after work with him, like he had been doing when he started.

She didn’t come right out of the gate and make him talk about Skip, either. She asked him about the Defenders, about why he had been staying with Jessica. She met with him and Jessica once, helping the two of them speak through their own emotional inexperience to describe why they were so close.

It helped a lot. By the time they started working through Skip, it was like he had been doing with Jessica – one little bit at a time.

Working with the Defenders closer to full time meant he was able to help when they finally took down that cop, all of them bringing in different types of experience to ensure they would be okay in the fallout.

It was a different experience than it had been with Hawkins. They were all vigilantes, meaning they were less protected from the law, except in the court of public opinion.

Now, though, he had to figure out which college he was actually attending of the ones that had accepted him, work for the precinct to finish, and AcaDeca to study for. Senior year had been interesting  to say the least.

“So, Ned.” He pushed his friend’s shoulder lightly, just enough to get his attention. “What are you doing after school?”

“Nothing but homework. Ugh, why is it you never study for anything and you have a 4.0?”

“Practical experience?”

Peter shrugged. “Want me to swing by and help?”

“I thought you had a study date with Tyler.”

“Did, but he had to cancel. His school is gunning to take us down at regionals this year.” Peter felt his hand slip to the promise ring on his finger. They were going to get married after college, they had decided. Then, they were going to spend five years aggressively establishing careers before adopting a child.

They had it all planned out.

“Not gonna happen.”

“That’s what I said.” Peter laughed. “Loser makes the winner a meal of their choice.”

“You two have such wholesome love lives. Like, you bet food instead of sex.”

Peter laughed again. It felt nice reorienting himself to a local focus, making sure there was less pressure on him. “That’s because sex was never on the table, my friend.”

“He’s ace?”

“I am.”

Ned nodded. “Cool. And it’s good he’s cool about it. I would have told MJ if he wasn’t, and that would have been a fight to see.”

“Mmmm.” Peter got a dorky grin. “I want to say Tyler would win, but we both know he wouldn’t.”

“True enough.”

MJ showed up a few moments later. “I’ve been summoned?”

Ned shook his head. “I can’t be the only one that finds it creepy when she does that.”

“I literally know a murderer, Ned.” Peter shrugged. “And a stupid accurate human lie-detector. MJ being able to tell when she’s being talked about isn’t as creepy after that.”

He didn’t like calling Jessica a murderer, but she insisted. She said she couldn’t outrun the reality of what she had done, and she had to face the fact that, even if it had been under Killgrave’s control, she had killed an innocent woman. When they said murderer, no one meant Killgrave. He would go with it if it helped her, though, because she was seeing the same therapist he was, and it seemed to be helping.

“Good point.”

MJ raised a brow. “You know a murderer? Peter “Awkward Wallflower Extraordinaire” Parker knows a killer?”

Peter shrugged. MJ had yet to figure out for certain that he was Spider-Man, but he was having fun with dancing around her until she did. She enjoyed the game, too. He had once offered to end it when she got frustrated enough to make threats about kicking him off AcaDeca and making him First Alternate, even if contestants were chosen by test. She had said if he did that she actually would kick him off, because the chase and the digging was half the fun.

He was fairly certain she would be an investigative journalist or something equally detailed. She had the mind and the passion for it, certainly, and she wanted justice and equality above all else, which would push that passion further.

Peter was pretty sure there were great things in her future. He was honored to call her his friend.

“Well, dorks, it’s time to get to work. If you’re not studying for finals, Parker, you’re studying for AcaDeca, am I understood?”

Peter nodded. “I have some work for the precinct I’ve got to do first, but that’ll take ten minutes tops.”

“Good.” She nodded before throwing her arms around their shoulders and dragging them towards the library. “Let’s go.”  

*

It took a while for Tony to reconcile how his mother had actually died. It took longer for him to find a way to think about Bucky Barnes without wanting to hit something. More specifically, to hit Rogers for hiding it. There was something beyond painful knowing that Rogers didn’t think he needed to know.

Still, the Soldier, the Man, he was at a point in his rehabilitation where he needed to start being around people more, and what better way to handle that than to be at the compound, where he would be around people who could contain him in the unlikely event he snapped?

Well, Tony didn’t have time to worry about it. He had other things to plan, such as the double wedding that was in two days and still felt incomplete. With everything happening, Peralta and Santiago hadn’t gotten to tie the knot. It had been Pepper’s idea to merge the nuptials and make it a joint event, and Tony couldn’t say he disagreed.

The wedding parties were decided. Peter was Peralta’s best man (“Good choice, I would pick Peter, too, Jake” had been the commentary from Peralta’s friend Charles), and Rhodey was Tony’s. Maids of honor were Rosa and Natasha. It was coming together but there was one thing that kept nagging at Tony, the feeling he hadn’t done something.

It wasn’t until the kid swung by for his internship – which was an actual internship now that he wasn’t training with the Avengers anymore – that he remembered.

No one had taken Peter to get his suit for the wedding.

“Alright, kid, you’re going to learn about how to pick a nice suit. Get in the car.”

Happy glared at him, but Tony just gestured to get out so he could take the wheel. It would be a nice break.

*

Steve was ecstatic. James was coming to the compound, now with Tony’s blessing (even if Rhodey was a little stubborn on the whole issue). He would be living with his friend again, he would be able to see him beyond a monthly video chat. Peter had laughed when Peter had first tried to use Skype, the little shit. He had even taken video of it for his Instagram.

When James had seen it, he had lost it laughing, telling Steve he better get to meet the kid that took the video. Even if Peter wasn’t working with the Avengers anymore, he was still around with Tony occasionally.

Steve missed training with the kid – he had been fun – but he was definitely happier now that he was cutting back. His work was less than twenty hours a week during the school year, he worked with the Defenders, who were more lax about training and personal image than the Avengers were able to be, and he spent more time with his friends and on the Decathlon team. Even his time with Tony was limited to twice a week. He came in, he did his lab work with Tony, and he left.

Steve let his thoughts fall to the side like he had been working on with his therapist, when James walked in, a duffel bag over his shoulder.

“Hey, Stevie. Would’ve thought a born-n-bred Brooklyner like you wouldn’t wanna be out in the country…”

“Well, this is where my work is.”

James smiled. “I’m glad you found people. You needed it.”

“I am too. I’m glad you’re safe.”

James shrugged. “Well, that’s debatable, but I’m a lot safer, and I’m doing a lot better than before.”

Steve slung an arm around him. “Tony’s not going to be around a while, and neither’s Peter, but you can meet them later. Promise.”

“Sounds good.”

*

Jake watched his younger brother struggle with himself and with what had happened for a year, now. He still had a long way to go, but Peter had come so far in reconciling himself and his past. The therapist had also had the unforeseen benefit of addressing some manifesting issues that were the result of his Spider-Man activities.

Jake had known about the nightmares, but he hadn’t heard from Peter about the other issues. He hated having to do it, having to go to May and Ben – Peter hadn’t talked to him for a while after that if he could get away with it – but he was glad it had come out. Peter was strong, stronger than he should have to be, but now he was learning how to handle the things even he couldn’t shoulder alone.

He had opened up more, too. Tony, May, and Ben hadn’t noticed until Jake had pointed it out, but Peter was sharing the little things about his day and his patrols like usual, but also some of the more major things. He talked about how a man named Fisk was trying to get out of prison again, working the system from within, and how Daredevil was determined to keep that from happening.

He talked more about the things that happened on patrol that scared him or that nearly killed him, knowing that, while he didn’t want to frighten any of his family, he couldn’t rightfully keep it from them when they needed to know how to help him, especially if he was injured.

He was happy with how things were turning out. The doctor had warned Peter might backslide a bit as time went on into unhealthy coping mechanisms or behaviors, but he had been showing good progress so far.

He sighed, sipping his coffee. Two more days, and he’d be married to Amy. He was doing a joint wedding with Tony freaking Stark.

His life had gotten really cool in the last few years.

*

The morning of Jake and Amy’s wedding was quiet. May took the chance to enjoy it, because the bed and breakfast Amy and Jake had found upstate to have the wedding at – which Pepper had whole-heartedly approved for it’s quaint atmosphere and more isolated location – was going to be full of hectic people running around and worried about everything going wrong. She had been to enough weddings to know that watching and helping with a double wedding would likely be only slightly worse. Same problems, but likely more quickly resolved.

Ben was standing next to her, offering her a mug of coffee.

Everything was going to be okay. Everything was working out just fine.

Her family had grown by a lot in the last two or three years, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end of the main work, friends! Thank you for reading, and thank you for sticking with it! I'll still be posting the occasional one-shot or _Simpler Days_ chapter, and I'm talking to a friend about a Peter's college-years au that might be a sequel to this, but for now...  
>  It's complete
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. It's been really fun writing and sharing this with you all! 
> 
> Come talk to me on [Tumblr!](https://putmymusiconshuffleidareyou.tumblr.com)


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